The Green Water
by deBrumbled
Summary: Sakura wasn't meant to be here. She embarks on her journey to find out just who exactly she was but it soon becomes apparent that survival comes first. After all, she's not the only unnatural thing in these parts. SakuTobir
1. Chapter 1

Sakura stepped towards the pool of water lying at the foot of the statue. It glowed with an eerie green luminescence. Carefully she touched the edge of the pool with her foot, where it met the soft emerald moss, she noted that its surface remained unnaturally still as if it were frozen.

"Sakura-sama, please, I'm not sure you should do this…"

Never taking her eyes from the water, she raised a hand to silence her apprentice. Yes, this was the place she'd read so much about. And it was the only way she could save any of them and that, she was sure of. There was very little time left for the young children cradled in their mothers' arms behind her and she herself had had far too much time.

Her bones ached and even the diamond seal on her forehead could no longer keep her young. She'd never expected to live so long, to outlive all of the friends and family. She'd never expected for them to all die and leave her behind. Maybe Sakura couldn't have saved those precious to her but she was going to damn well try and save these children. Anyway, she'd been on her own for so long now, she felt it was time for her to re-join her comrades, wherever their souls had gone.

"You will place those who are sick at the edge of the pool. The scrolls clearly describe that the afflicted must place their left hand in the water. Do not do so until I am completely submerged." She instructed as clearly as she could manage with her rasping voice.

"But, what if it doesn't work?!" exclaimed her apprentice "What if you die and leave us here with no solution and no healer?"

Sakura looked at her withered hands, at the wrinkles and liver spots. She closed her eyes and felt the reassuring warm power pulse through her gnarled arthritic fingers, she had healed so many with her own two hands. But this time, she knew it was not enough to cure any of those afflicted with the cursed illness. She edged closer to the pool, relishing the strange coolness that radiated from its depths. Somehow it called to her, eased her aching bones and brought strength to her wasting muscles.

"My child, did I ever tell you of Elder Chiyo of the Sand?"

"Sakura-sama! It is not the time for stories, you must not enter that water! You must try another way, we will find another jutsu. You can do anything, you're the woman who punched a goddess!"

"Silence, you fool." Sakura scolded coldly, her voice cracking with age. "It would do you good to listen to your elder. I cannot save these children with medical ninjustsu. You know this. We have allowed enough to die."

Her apprentice fell silent behind her, Sakura could feel the waves of panic roll off of her in choking clouds. But, stronger than her apprentice's fear, Sakura felt the weight of the dead on her shoulders, she saw the frightened faces of those she'd allowed to slip away whilst she'd futilely battled to save them. There was only so much one could do with chakra. Sometimes you just had to take a chance. She sighed heavily and continued.

"I have seen many things in my long years. I know of only one technique to save those nearly dead. When I was a girl -before I fought Kaguya- I fought alongside one of the finest shinobi who ever lived on this earth. I saw with my own eyes, that she revived a dead boy in exchange for her life." Sakura paused, wheezing, unused to the strain of leaving her dusty, empty halls. "I now have the chance to do the same, except these children are not dying and there is more than one life to save. This pool is the medium I need to do this, I am sure of it. It is the water of legend and I do not know what force watches over it but I am sure they will accept the sacrifice of my life in exchange for sparing the lives of these children."

Sakura snapped open her clouded eyes and took one last look at the scene before her. The ancient statue stood, arms outstretched to welcome her to her fate. Its face, no it was a she, her face was beautiful but so sad – so much like Kaguya's when she had laid her eyes on Sasuke and Naruto all those years ago. It looked as if a real person had been frozen in stone, a person who at any moment would come to life and take Sakura's hand leading her into the depths of that mystical water and possibly reunite her with her beautiful dead boys. Before anyone could question her again, she took her first step into the glowing liquid. She winced as ice cold daggers shot up her frail legs.

"Sakura-sama!"

"Hush now, you know it is too late for me. The first step is all it needs to take my life, don't make this a wasted sacrifice. Do as I instructed." She snapped crankily, only softening when she her the sniffles of the young woman she'd tutored and cared for.

"You will be fine, I promise." Sakura soothed as she dragged her other foot into the excruciating water.

She heard her beloved apprentice begin to sob behind her but she pushed on none the less. Each step was agonising, like reliving every bit of pain inflicted on her during her long life in a single moment. But it would be worth it. The cursed illness would be lifted and the children would live. The scrolls had described it and she had faith in the legend, after all, she had first-hand experience of legends being truth. She held her head high, despite her twisted old spine and she strode with pride into the depths.

As the liquid flooded into her mouth and nose with a strange viscosity she glanced upwards at the statue one last time. And it seemed to her, that it was finally smiling. "_Perhaps, I have truly done the right thing"_ she mused.

Her lungs burnt with ice fire and she began to drown in the strange liquid. Her eyes could not close despite the pain she felt. She saw nothing but green. And then she died, thinking of her Naruto and her Sasuke, her boys who'd left her watching their backs once again, passing on long before.

_"I can finally be with you_."

…..

The girl sat up choking, eyes flying open in panic.

There was no green glow, there was no fire in her body anymore. She doubled over, retching and spluttering, clawing at her chest still reeling at the memory of pain and agony.

Where was she?

What was happening?

Who was she?

She dry heaved painfully but nothing came up. She began to sob helplessly, it felt as if her body was trying to rip itself apart. And yet, she was aware that she this was a small hurt, that something much worse had happened to her. Trying not to panic, the girl scooted backwards, looking around, how did she get here? Was she safe? _"I need to get hold myself. Think, analyse, survive!"_

Her hands were numb and aching, she glanced down, becoming aware she was in shallow water, a small stream or perhaps a brook, and that she was very naked. Pale yellow light fell in pools where the thick over hanging canopy would allow. "_So it's day time, probably late day or maybe winter". _The water was icy cold, and the stones beneath her knees and hands were smooth and grey. "_How could I not realise I was in water? What's going on?"_

She raised a trembling hand to her bare chest. "_Think, think!" _She was not in a warm land that was for sure, or if she was she must be at a high altitude to be in this colder water. "_I can't be on a mountain, the trees are too dense and I am not struggling to breath"_. Timidly she looked at her hands, they were beginning to turn a nasty pale colour and the tips of her fingers were tinged blue._ "It doesn't matter where I am, I need to get out of this water and I need to get warm"_. She struggled to her feet and staggered towards the trees. Her legs buckled beneath her, as if they were weak from disuse and she fell hard on the shale at the edge of the water. She cried out, looking at the blood swelling on the palm of her hand, crimson and lurid in the gentle cold light. She knew her legs were not going to work for the time being but she had to keep going or she'd freeze. The girl bit her lip and continued to crawl over the rougher stones, dragging herself by splintering fingernails.

Her pale, soft body quickly became a patchwork pattern of bruises and scrapes but she continued onwards towards the tree line. "_Perhaps I'm anaemic." _She pondered, amused that this might be her only identifying feature. After a few desperate minutes of scrabbling, she had made it to the carpet of comparatively soft pine needles that lay under the towering trees. She allowed herself a few moments respite before dragging herself further in for better cover. The girl could not escape the feeling of danger that twisted her stomach uncomfortably nor the innate drive to keep going, to survive.


	2. Chapter 2

A flash of blonde and a huge grin made her smile. His warm hand reached out to her, helping her to her feet. The dark haired boy next to her smirked knowingly, turning away to look over the horizon at what she knew to be home. She opened her mouth to call out to them; to tell them what they really meant to her but she began to choke. Luminous green liquid bubbled out of her throat. She tried to spit it out, to vomit, anything to get it out of her but it kept coming, bubbling, bubbling from within her.

She tried to scream for help and looked around her desperately, only to find that she was alone save for the rising eerie green water that was even now was gushing over her head to pulling her under.

The girl jerked awake, choking on air. She sobbed quietly, trying to regain her calm. _"It was just a dream, just a dream."_ She tried to comfort herself. But it had felt so real - those faces so familiar. Fear constricted at her chest, paralysing her. _"No it was a dream and nothing more. I am alive, I haven't drowned and I am alone. I need to get a grip."_

She knew she must have made somewhat of a ruckus waking up and she was vulnerable. The sky was beginning to lighten. _"Some larger animals hunt at dusk"_ she thought _"And humans… people might be around._"

The girl did not know whether to feel relieved or worried at the thought of other people. Deep in her gut, she felt that it was dangerous to reveal herself too eagerly to her own kind. For starters, she was naked and weak. There were evil people out there and she was very vulnerable right now. And vulnerability made her feel more uncomfortable than the thought of that glowing green liquid.

_"First I find food, I know where water is, so first I find food_" She instructed herself. "_Hopefully I'll find something to wear on the way. It's a miracle I survived a night like this, I won't survive much longer._"

She heaved herself up, wary of her treacherously weak legs. But today, they seemed a little more reliable than before. The girl tottered southwards, hoping to find some edible mushrooms as it was still in early morning. The mulch squelched beneath her tender feet as she carefully picked her way downhill.

During her morning of gathering, she often slipped over, further colouring her blemished pale skin but she always dragged herself up, driven by the rising hunger in her empty stomach. By the time she'd gathered enough to sustain her, she was exhausted and very nearly immobile but at least she finally felt warm from her exertions. She watched small birds flitter from tree to tree, chattering angrily at each other, as she greedily stuffed her face with dirt covered fungi. When she was done she found she still felt ravenous. The girl sighed, she felt she shouldn't loiter there any longer. _"It's time I move on, I need to find real shelter tonight. I can eat what I find on the way._"

As the sun reached is noon position, she was already heading southwards, in the hopes of finding a more agreeable climate. _"I need to survive today. Just today, I can worry about tomorrow, tomorrow"_ she kept telling herself, pushing herself to carry on despite her fatiguing body.

* * *

Dusk. A time when many shinobi are most active. The forest creaked and rustled. The air was crisp, it had a tang, promising a night of rain fall. The dying light of the crimson sun cast long shadows in the forest. Everything was too still.

Tobirama crouched by the roots of an old tree. He was surrounded and he knew it. At least his opponents didn't know that he was aware, a small advantage for him in the impending ambush. He drew a kunai, carefully spinning it in his dexterous fingers before pretending to inspect it for damage. Subtly he angled the knife so he could see what was reflected in its side from the dark forest behind him. He buffed it slightly with his sleeve to hide his action from any watchers. _"There!_" he concealed his smirk as he spotted his first would be assailant.

But, from his earlier chakra probe, he knew there were three more. He couldn't waste much more time trying to scope out their locations. He had to move before they did. Once again, he spun his kunai on his finger before throwing it in the air and catching it as he turned on his heel towards his first victim. He bounded across the clearing, aware that they knew he was onto them now. He just had to reach one of them before they reached him. A shruiken skimmed past his face, nicking his cheek. _"Fool. I've found you."_ This time he allowed himself a smirk, as he spun once more throwing his kunai and hearing a reassuring clunk and groan as it met its target. He dove left as more shruiken thudded into the ground where he had been. He rolled and continued on his path towards the original target. In one liquid motion, he drew his sword, slashing upwards and catching his opponent on the underside of his chin.

The slice was not enough to kill a man, Tobirama knew this from experience, but it was enough to disorientate his opponent. A second downward slash and strike was enough to finish the shinobi off. Now there was only two. He paused to catch his breath. His legs tensed as he prepared to run. _"Must keep moving, they'll be on me soon_." He swung round, pivoting on his left foot and scanning the air for more projectiles.

None came this time, the remaining others seemed to be smarter than their dead comrades. He breathed deeply, listening carefully. Perturbed by his opponents who were silent in the face of death of their clan mates, Tobirama dove for the nearest cover, to plan for his next attack. _"Cold and calculating. Likely to be more advanced shinobi. If I could just work out who I'm against, I could take them down_". He fingered the hilt of his katana edgily.

A kunai sank into the ground by his feet. Tobirama flinched but did not move, around the handle was tied a small note. The trajectory was a lazy arch that had come looping from above - it was unlikely that it was meant to be a killing shot. Warily, he snatched the paper from the kunai and danced backwards, searching the scene for further weapons or attackers. He pressed his back against the rock wall towering above him, at least they couldn't come from behind now. He kept retreating until he found some larger rocks to hide between. When he was satisfied he was sheltered enough, he unrolled the paper and scanned the message.

**Senju. We wish to talk.**

It was stamped with a motif of a fan. _"Uchiha…"_ Tobirama growled in disgust. He would have rather die than speak to those who'd killed so many of family and clan. He was not a trusting fool like his brother. He knew this was bad though, he needed to get out of here. Two presumably competent Uchiha could kill him. He wasn't so proud that he wouldn't acknowledge the Uchiha's prowess as killing machines.

He turned, gathering chakra at the bottoms of his feet, preparing to escape as quickly as possible. Stealthily, he darted from between the boulders and turned back to the clearing, preparing to retreat. But he was met with the cold stare of two Uchiha. Malice dripped from their every pore as they stood, arms crossed, watching him.

"We _do_ wish to talk, Tobirama." Drawled the tallest. The other, younger Uchiha remained silent, his Sharingan flaring into life, studying the Senju boy.

"I am not willing to listen, Madara, I won't be tricked like my brother."

"Shut up! We could kill you right here… We should kill you right here!" Spat the younger brother, Izuna.

"Quiet, Izuna, you are both too hasty." Madara quietly chided his brother, before turning his cold dark gaze back to Tobirama "If you will not cooperate, then at least pass on my message to Hashirama. He is head of the clan and not you. It is his choice whether or not to consider negotiations with us. Bring him to the river where we first met, in two weeks."

"You must think me a fool, trying to get me to bring my own brother to your trap!" Spat Tobirama.

Madara squared his shoulders, his Sharingan activating threateningly. Tobirama felt chilling dark chakra seep menacingly across the clearing. He tensed, readying his sword, he would at least kill one of them before they killed him. Heavy drops of rain began to splash down from the pregnant clouds above. His legs itched to run. But he remained stationary, awaiting their first move. He would not be the one to attack first during a parlay.

**Forgot to add comments before. Erm, thanks for reading - I know the grammar is patchy but I'm terrible for starting and not finishing so I'm going to try and churn the chapters out as fast as possible and correct it all later.**

**Hope you enjoy it :) And leave a review to help me head in the right direction! **


	3. Chapter 3

The girl had been walking for hours, finding nothing better than sparse areas of bracken to make shelter in. Pine needles pricked her sole as she continued her trek through the tall dark trees.

She flinched as she felt the first cold rain drop hit her bare flesh and glide noiselessly down her skin. Groaning, she wrapped her battered arms around her naked stomach, trying to keep warm. It was pointless though, the heavens opened and fat orbs of rain pelted her, soaking her matted hair and sliding down her dirty body. Shivering, she persevered on, she had to find some kind of shelter; the tree canopy did not provide cover in a rain storm like this.

The dirt beneath feet became slippery and treacherous. The top layer was loose and sat on the hard lower layer like a film of oil. Several times, she lost her footing and fell to the ground. _"I won't last much longer like this, I'm too cold. I'm getting weaker._" She admitted to herself.

Below she saw a break in the trees and froze when she heard the distant exchange of voices. "_Should I go to them?_" She wondered. "_Can I trust anyone? Do I even have a choice? I will die out here in this rain. Maybe not now but I will get sick from the cold. If it frosts tonight it might be the last of me_".

She decided to creep closer to at least gauge the situation before she decided. She snuck down the hill, cursing every time she lost her footing. As she descended she clung to the wispy roots poking from the crumbling soil, so that she would not tumble and break her neck. Nearer the clearing, the incline was steepest, but the mud had been replaced with solid rocks. The girl slowed, realising she was near enough to hear some of what they were saying and paused her descent to listen.

"Don't insult us Senju, we have asked for a meeting, do not think us as so base as to be treacherous at our own parlay. You would be wise not to insult us twice" Snarled a rich deep voice.

"You have requested I pass on this message and yet you threaten me?!" A second voice exclaimed furiously "You can see why I have trouble trusting your word."

The girl was curious now. There were at least two groups of people meeting to talk. They sounded very serious, not like you'd expect from a forester or a lumberjack that you'd imagine to find all the way out in the woods. More like military of some kind. Regardless of their profession and even if they were aggressive, perhaps if she approached they would not immediately attack, believing she belonged to the other side.

She scrabbled backwards on the increasingly damp rocks, considering her options. She screeched in surprise as her foot slipped on a mossy stone and she felt her body weight tip downwards. Before she could anchor herself safely on the nearby rocks, the stones below her slid away, taking her with them. For a moment she panicked, worried she'd hit her head or be crushed. She clawed desperately at the jagged stones and managed to turn, slowing her fall by skidding down on her side.

When she hit the bottom, she was too afraid to move. What if she'd broken something? She inhaled deeply, forcing herself to assess the situation calmly.

_"Do I have mobility in my legs and arms?_" She tensed them, they hurt like hell but they seemed to respond. She smiled into the mud. It quickly dissipated, realising the ruckus all that would have made. The people might come looking.

_"I have to get out of here before they find me_." She pushed herself off the ground wincing at a sharp pain on her left side and thigh. She managed to stagger into a standing position, head hung low. When she finally glanced up, she met the eyes of three men, all staring at her coldly.

* * *

Tobirama glared at the Uchiha in disbelief _"As if we could ever believe them!_"

He tensed as he heard the thud of falling rocks and a strange screeching sound. The rumbling increased as stones bounced down from above the nearby rock wall, he sprung backwards, prepared for further Uchiha reinforcements. To his surprise, the Uchiha jumped too, brandishing their weapons. Rocks tumbled from above accompanied by a slender falling body. _"Genjutsu?"_

He forced chakra to his brain and eyes _"Kai!"_ But nothing changed. He relaxed his stance and glanced sideways at the Uchiha. The body appeared to belong to a naked young woman. She looked so vulnerable, like a new-born child. She lay deathly still for a long minute before Tobirama saw her limbs twitch. Shuddering with the exertion he watched her push herself to standing. Her long pink hair was plastered to her head and neck, she was filthy and slick with rain and blood. Her pale skin was marred with bruises and gashes, the worst of which was on her left side – an ugly wound bubbling with fresh red blood.

She finally looked up, startling green eyes stared back at them from beneath the grime and filth. The girl froze, clearly petrified but she held their gazes. Madara took a step forward but stopped as she straightened, holding her neck high and proud despite her nudity. Izuna too began to advance, but hesitated when her eyes flashed, warning them not to approach. She clenched her tiny fists and tried to look fierce despite trembling so obviously.

"Who are you?" Tobirama asked first.

She stayed silent, staring solely at him now. He felt the weight of her green gaze as she eyed him up and down. He wondered what assessment she was making of him and what on earth had happened to her. He cocked his head to one side, his mouth set in a firm line. He cockily returned her look, slowly sliding eyes down her tiny frame, taking in the details of her battered body. He snapped his eyes away from her as the youngest Uchiha turned and began to approach him angrily.

"Is this one of your tricks, Senju?" Izuna spat. His hand reaching for his weapons.

"Is it one of yours?" Tobirama spat back. Izuna paused and looked to his older brother, the question in his own eyes. _"Well at least he doesn't know what's going on"_.

Madara remained silent, staring at the girl with uncharacteristic surprise. She looked from one to the other and tried to step backwards but stumbled and fell to one knee. Tobirama saw the wince of pain as her shin hit the ground but did not move forward _"This must be one of Madara's ploys"_.

"Who are you?" He repeated.

She glared at him defiantly, sticking her chin in the air as she attempted to stand once more. They watched her struggle upright once more. The rain continued to fall, washing the blood down her body in streaked lines. Her nudity didn't seem to bother her and she stood as proud as any Uchiha or Senju, her eyes lakes of green fire.

"I don't know." Her voice finally rang out like a clear bell.

She looked shocked by her own admission and then, Tobirama suddenly realised, a little frightened. She was tiny in stature, pale and so fragile like a porcelain doll. She was young, no older than Tobirama or Izuna themselves. Despite her proud carriage, she trembled like a leaf in the wind, possibly cold or possibly hurt. It was no surprise when she fell again. Her ribcage rose and fell frantically as she tried to catch her breath. She crouched panting like an animal on the ground, her hands digging into the mud in frustration.

"I-" she started, she looked up at them defeated "I- I need clothes, I need shelter."

The girl hated begging, hated feeling as if she needed protection. Self-loathing bubbled in her stomach, the bitter taste of bile rose in her throat. Her sore fingers tore into the earth, mud clumped under her broken nails and stung her wounds. But she had to ask. She had to survive. Like a dog she looked up at the three men, meeting each of their gazes. She didn't want to beg but she didn't want to freeze.

* * *

"I-" the bile nearly choked her "I- I need clothes, I need shelter" she managed to spit out. Her heart hammered _"Will they help me? Or…"_ She shook her head, not wanting to think of what they could do to her in her weak, naked state.

None of them moved. They gazed at her emotionlessly.

"_Assessing my worth?"_

She refused to break eye contact with them. If they were going to hurt her, she would not give them the satisfaction of seeing her shatter. All three were young, tall and proud. Two had dark hair and the other was fair with hair like a cloud of silver. Their faces were unusually beautiful, noble with high cheek bones. All were armoured, much like samurai, but they carried small throwing knives. "_Shinobi!_" Her eyes widened. The word seared through her mind as if it had been branded there before.

The girl rocked back onto her heels, mustering all the energy she had in a last ditch attempt to escape into the forest surrounding her. There was no doubt in her mind, however, that if they wanted her then she stood no chance right now. The shorter of the dark haired men started forward but stopped as the other raised his hand. She watched suspiciously as he undid the shoulder straps of his armour, lifting it over his head. The fair one watched closely too, his eyes narrowed. The tall dark one pulled off the large black shirt he wore underneath and proffered it to her.

When he saw her hesitation to come toward him, he threw it so it landed near her hands. She scrabbled forward, clawing it up and holding it to her bare chest. She didn't trust them enough to put it on immediately, any loss of vision could be the end of her. Instead, she held onto it with an iron grip.

"So she is one of yours?" Questioned the Silver haired one.

She stayed mute. Not sure whether allegiance was necessarily a good thing in this situation. The shinobi who'd given her his shirt cocked his head to one side, considering the statement for a moment. He scanned her body, eyes lingering on the curve of her hip and the line of her neck.

"No. But who could refuse such a request?" He murmured, smiling at some private thought.

As she watched him, his eyes swirled from grey to red. They settled in a three tomoe pattern and she gasped. Recognition hit her like a cold wall of water. She'd seen those eyes before.

Involuntarily, she reached out to him and a name almost formed on her lips but was lost before it could be said. The girl snatched her hand back, frightened of the feeling of familiarity that had just washed over her. His impassive eyes watched her, she could see he did not recognize her, unless he was very good at hiding it.

"I-I'm sorry, thank you. Thank you for helping me." She stuttered, hoping this would appease them and she could leave. She began to shuffle backwards on her knees, moving toward the tree line.

In an instant the tall dark shinobi had crossed the clearing. She choked in surprise, she hadn't even seen him move. He knelt, lifting her chin between his thumb and forefingers, inspecting her. She tried to yank her head away but his grasp was strong. He held her still, staring deep into her eyes, chilling her to the core.

"Tell me who you are." He commanded. His red eyes spiralled dangerously. The girl's mind began to fog and it felt as if her mouth answered for her brain.

"I don't know."

He remained silent, examining her face. Her heart raced but her body did not respond to the fear welling up inside her. She willed her arms to move, to push him away but she hung limply in his gaze like a lifeless doll. After what seemed like an eternity, he released her, his eyes sliding up and down her body.

"She appears to be telling the truth. Not that it matters, in that state she won't last the night." He stated languidly.

The other two remained silent. Watching his every move.

"Let's go Izuna." He gave her one final appraisal with his chilling eyes before turning to the fair haired man "Remember, Hashirama at the river, in two weeks."

And with that, they were gone and the girl found she could breathe again. She shivered, at the thought of those strange eyes. They called to something deep in her, something she was both terribly afraid of and longed for. She gripped the shirt tightly, her hands seeping blood. "_Focus, I need to focus. There's only one left. I need to get away from here._"

She carefully continued to back away, trying not to meet the eyes of the final shinobi. She stared at his feet, ensuring he wasn't approaching her as she made her escape.

"He's right you know. You won't last the night like that." She jerked to a halt.

_"Is that a threat? Or just the truth?" _Slowly, she began to retreat once more, wincing at the pain on her left side.

"I don't know if he was telling the truth you know. You could be one of his spies." His casual voice continued conversationally.

The girl grunted, trying to mask her terror. _"What if he kills me?"_

"Regardless, no girl should be alone in this forest tonight."

She didn't care. She just wanted to get away. She just wanted to pull on that shirt and curl up in the brief warmness it would provide. As if he could read her mind his next words smashed her hope like a little boat caught up in a tsunami.

"That shirt will soak through soon. You will die out here."

She bit her lip. What did he want from her? Was he going to help? Hurt her? Or was he going to keep making his cruel, casual observations?

"You are losing blood and you are weak."

The girl's head shot up, fury blazing like wild fire in her eyes. Tobirama admired her ferocious and proud expression.

"You don't know anything about me." She seethed "I am not weak."

"I could kill you easily, as you crawl in that muck." He commented nonchalantly.

The girl flinched but seemed even angrier than before. She glared at him, her trembling stopped as she prepared herself.

"You can try…" She threatened.

"And I would succeed."

"Then I would die without fear. I would die looking you in the eye, I would die with honour."

He laughed, she was so fearsome for something so small and so helpless.

"Die with honour? Naked in the mud?" He chuckled "My lady, I fear you may have misunderstood the definition of honour."

"Or maybe you have?" She retorted "Threatening those who cannot fight back. Taunting me when I'm already down. I know I have honour, I would never do such a thing. I will embrace my death with pride, knowing I did everything I could to survive until the end."

He reeled slightly at her comments. He was one of the few honourable shinobi around, or at least he liked to think so. He ground his teeth and Tobirama gazed at her pensively. _"Well she certainly is proud_" he conceded "_And so rude to a shinobi of the Senju clan."_

"Calm yourself, I will not hurt you. I am merely pointing out the obvious."

She scoffed and continued her painfully slow journey away from him. He watched her go, she was so pathetic, like a worm squirming in mud. And yet, every time she shot him with one of her malevolent glares he found himself admiring her.

"You are a very rude woman, my lady." He called after her. "Do you not know who I am?"

"I'm rude?! Rude?!" She growled "You expect me to cower in fear of you? You are no more than a bully."

He smiled, as she disappeared behind the trunk of a tree. Never in his life had he seen something so strange. A naked and dying girl, crawling away from help, calling him a bully. She was impudent and unnatural. _"Well she can suffer her idiocy_."

He turned to leave _"I wouldn't trust the Uchiha not to leave her as a trap anyway"_ he thought sourly. He slunk away offended by her but turned back for a final glimpse of the scene, a pale limb caught his eye.

The girl's leg stuck out from behind the trunk, blood dripped down it mixing with the soil beneath her. He could only make out one of her arms as she raised it above her head, the thick black material of Madara's shirt slipped down swallowing her slender body.

Yes, it was strange that Madara had given her his shirt in the first place. He'd exposed himself in the open to attack. And with a Senju standing so close to him. And the way he had stared at her…

The girl had reached out for him as well. Perhaps she had useful information. Perhaps she could be leverage. If that was the case, the only question was, _"Why did Madara leave her behind?"_

A soft thump echoed through the clearing, reverberating against the rock wall. The girl had slumped to the floor. Her mouth moved wordlessly as she smiled at the sky.

**Er, so I regret not having her know her name. Now she has to be "the girl" until I can work in an appropriately convenient naming scene. I hope it doesn't bother you guys too much. I just can't bring myself to call her a pinkette or something... Thanks for reading :) Thank you for the reviews encouraging me to keep writing - it really does help!**


	4. Chapter 4

Red eyes twisting, changing shape in the dark.

Fear, she felt fear.

He was going to kill her this time after all.

All of the hurt, the pain, was it for nothing? Did she mean nothing to him? _Annoying_. Yes _Annoying_. Is that all she would ever be? What did she know anyway? What had she ever really done for him?

The hand tore through her chest, cracking ribs, shredding lungs. It obliterated her heart and the green water poured from the hole, rising over her feet and over her head in a matter of seconds.

A name… His name!

She tried to call out to him, the name burst from her mouth and she watched in horror as it was lost in a silent bubble of air.

* * *

Tobirama watched the girl writhe strangely on the floor. He wondered what dreams could cause such pain. She clutched at her chest desperately, her hands bent into grotesque claws.

"_Or perhaps she is just dying."_

He prodded the camp fire thoughtfully, stoking the embers into a lick of flame. Since her head had hit the floor earlier, she hadn't stopped dreaming. Her mouth whispered silently and for a while he attempted to read her lips. All nonsense as far as he could tell. Fishcakes and a fairy-tale ninja – nothing of importance.

Sometimes she'd scream and thrash so violently that she'd kick off the cloak that he'd covered her in. He'd gently lay a hand over her mouth, muffling the sound until she subsided again and then he'd pull the fur-lined cloak over her once more. She'd been so exhausted that he could clean her wounds without too much resistance - just her frantic dreaming interfering with his methodical work.

With the exception of the long gauge down her left side, none of her injuries looked to be the result of combat or abuse. None were on the softer fleshy areas of stomach and breast. Her lower legs, elbows, feet and hands had been a bloody mess, sticky and dirty. Her face wasn't much better. Several bumps were beginning to swell where she must have hit her head at some point. Two long finger shaped bruises had begun to form on her chin, he noted with much distain. He lifted the edge of his cloak and Madara's shirt beneath it, to re-examine her left side. It was fairly deep but he'd managed to get most of the dirt out of it. It was shallower on her rib cage, starting just below the swell of her breast but it was worryingly deep on her upper thigh – it was a wonder the girl had managed to stand at all when they'd first encountered her. The amount of blood still bubbling from it was a worrying sign.

He traced the jagged edge of the wound with his finger. Her skin was strangely soft. As soft as a new-born baby. And she was so pale. As if she had never seen the sun before whatever had happened to her to cause all these wounds. That was the other perturbing thing - all her wounds looked to be fresh. Not a trace of an old scar anywhere on her body, and the areas of her hands and feet that were injury free had been as soft as the skin on her face.

He lowered the cloth, wondering what life she had lead prior to this. When he looked at her face he found her gazing silently at him.

"I'm warm?" She murmured softly, more of a question than a statement.

Tobirama turned away, slightly embarrassed that she'd seen him staring at her body, even if it was for medical purposes. Instead of answering her, he busied himself with his pack, searching for provisions.

"My side…" She started, her voice raspy and dry. Silently, he lifted a flask to her lips, pouring the cool refreshing liquid down her parched throat. He stopped when she began to splutter.

"It's bad." He finally replied. "But it's clean."

She sighed, almost contently. He leant forward to wipe the spilt water off her chin. But stopped when she grasped his hand, as it moved within her reach, with her own much smaller one. Her eyes, as bright as opal, stared at him seriously, an unspoken question on her lips.

"The bleeding has not stopped. You have lost a lot blood. I have nothing to close the wound."

"I see." She replied. "Please you have to cauterise it… I don't want to die."

She choked slightly on the last word. He looked at her quizzically. That had almost been his line to her. Her eyes shone with tears but they did not spill over.

"Aa…" He mumbled. Tobirama, awkwardly proffered a kunai to her. "These and my sword are the only metal I have."

She nodded, biting her lip. The girl watched in silence as he rotated the knife in the fire, her sharp eyes following his every move. In preparation, she grunted and rolled onto her right side, lifting her slender arm above her head.

"I have nothing for the pain." He admitted guiltily.

"Then just a rag."

He passed her one of his rolled up shirts, which she twisted and placed between her teeth. When she was done, he swiftly reheated the knife and knelt beside her. He placed a large hand on hers, anchoring her to the ground and maneuverer himself over her - so her body was trapped between his thighs. He hoped this was enough to keep her from moving too much. He squeezed her hand three times, to let her know it was about to begin and she stared up at him with wide saucer eyes.

The blade hissed and spat as it was pressed against her open wound. She tensed beneath him, every muscle in her body hideously contorted with pain but she made no sound. He continued, quickly and methodically, wanting the experience to be over for her as quickly as possible - even if she might be an Uchiha spy. As he worked on the soft flesh at the side of her abdomen, her eyes rolled into the back of her head and she went slack. _"Probably for the best."_ He thought to himself.

When he was done, he allowed the blade to cool before attempting to wipe her blood from it. He stared down at the unconscious girl at his side. _"She is not a citizen with that attitude but her body is not that of a shinobi"_. His suspicions plagued his thoughts as he waited for day break and her awakening.

* * *

Stench, stench of blood and skin evaporating and the acrid smell of raw power.

That was him, her golden boy.

Crouched. Half monster, eye sockets blazing with unnatural light. She had to get to him, she had to stop him before he lost himself. Someone shouts behind her. Her name - she knows - even though she can't hear it.

Just the sound of her pulse bursting in her ears, just the sounds of his tortured roars.

He turns, relief, she has made it.

Confusion. Pain sears across her arm. It was agonising, burning like nothing else in the world. She has lost him. Reality hit like a punch to the gut.

She stared terrified as the familiar green liquid erupted from his orifices, flooding to the floor, pooling around his crouched figure.

Her world dulled, lit only by the eerie light of the rising water, until it immersed her.

She drowned screaming silently again.

* * *

She woke up spluttering. She blinked tears away, the world was bright, solid and safe. Breathing deeply she slumped, outside of her dreams she knew she would be alright.

Her side was agonising, but her arm thankfully was not. She cautiously rubbed it, checking whether there was any pain.

"You're awaken then." Stated the fair haired shinobi who had treated her wounds.

She wasn't sure why she'd asked him to help her last night but he'd done it. She'd trusted him last night – she had implicitly seemed to know that he wouldn't hurt her more than he had to.

_"Or perhaps deliriously hoped."_

She wasn't so sure now. He eyed her with great suspicion, keeping his distance across a small smokeless fire.

"Aa, thank you for helping me."

"I have a price." He murmured in a low, gentle tone.

_"Of course he does. And I'm too weak to get away_." She thought. However, she found herself surprisingly un-resentful. He had cared for her and stayed with her when he didn't have to. She did owe him as much.

"What can I do in return?"

"Who are you?" He asked solemnly.

"Is answering that the price I pay?" She queried "You're a cheap doctor". His lips curled into a ghost of a smile for the briefest seconds.

"What are you?"

Odd question but the girl wasn't offended. She felt everything be a lot simpler for her if she knew the answer to that question too.

"I am afraid I cannot pay your price. I don't know anything about myself from before a few days ago."

He scoffed, obviously he found her answer unsatisfactory - a fanciful little story that she'd made up –"_Though_," she mused "_it's sadly the truth_."

She persevered with her explanation none the less. No point weaving an elaborate tale to this one, it's not likely he'd believe anything she said.

"I woke up late afternoon in a stream up there." She gestured uphill vaguely. "I don't know where I came from. I don't even know my name."

She stared at the canopy of leaves above her and sighed.

"I just know I want to survive."

"A likely story as any I suppose." He commented, sounding about as believing as someone who'd been told red was green.

"Well I'd like to know, as much as you would, about who I am. I'd wager I'd like to know a lot more than you do." He remained silent, she glanced at him, admiring how the warm morning light had turned his silver hair gold. He inspected the floor stubbornly, not bothering to meet her eye. The quietness between them made her feel uncomfortable.

"I couldn't walk when I tried to leave the stream, not at first. I crawled, that's why I'm like this." She babbled to fill the silence.

He finally looked up at her and she flinched seeing his red eyes.

"Are you…? Are you one of them?"

"Of who?" He asked impatiently.

"Those men from the other night?"

His nostrils flared in annoyance and he narrowed his eyes angrily at her.

"No I am not a fucking Uchiha, I'm a Senju. Senju Tobirama." He snapped, chest filling with pride as he spoke his clan name.

He deflated slightly when she stared blankly back at him. He looked down at the ground again and snatched up a stick. Drawing a knife from his pocket he began to fletch away at the end. The girl shifted uncomfortably, stuck immobilised for now, on her back due to the pain in her side.

"I'm sorry to have caused offense." She offered.

She thought back to the night they'd met. She'd been carelessly rude to him then. And he was obviously someone important, or at least thought he was. She'd just been so caught up in pain and anger. The word "weak" seemed to have trigged something within her.

"I'm sorry for my rash words the other night as well."

"Hn." Tobirama grunted, not looking up from his work.

They sat in silence for a long while. She watched his strong confident strokes as he whittled the wood into a sharp point. She waited for him to finish before trying to speak again.

"I hope I can repay you in some way. You didn't have to do what you did."

He set his stick down and gazed at her analytically. She wondered what he was thinking about but did not probe him further. Eventually, he rose and moved across to sit beside her. She winced as he lifted the cloak covering her, then the shirt she wore. He studied the wound on her side before grunting again, confirming some private thought.

"You won't be able to travel by yourself. You must come with me." He informed her.

She opened her mouth to argue but shut it swiftly. _"There's no where I can go anywhere by myself like this, let alone feed myself_".

Instead she said "I can't walk though. I am sorry."

He looked at her condescendingly, as if she'd said the most stupid thing in the world. She sighed and closed her eyes, hoping he would become easier to deal with soon. She listened to him packing up the makeshift camp and only reopened her eyes when he touched her shoulder.

"I will lift you now. It will hurt but we must move on. It isn't safe here."

She nodded, wishing that she could walk for herself rather than suffer a painful humiliation like this. She loathed being able to do nothing for herself. He scooped her effortlessly into his arms and cradled her like a child. The girl tried to ignore the shooting pains emanating from her side as he began his march eastward. Though his stride was smooth and he held her very gently, she struggled to control her breathing; panting as the wound rubbed uncomfortably against itself.

They travelled in silence, other than the sound of her ragged breathing. Tobirama seemed not to tire, despite the extra load. The girl didn't like to think about how long they travelled for, she ground her teeth to stop the whimpers that rose in her throat. _"I am not a baby. I am a grown woman. I'm sure I have endured pain far worse."_

She thought of her dreams. The strange eyes, the shock and hurt she always seemed to feel. Her dreams had a frightening quality to them. They're weren't just nightmares – she was sure of it - somehow they felt far too real. And the green water… Even now, when she closed her eyes she could see its burning icy brilliance scorching her the inside of her eyelids. She shook her head, she really preferred not to think of it.

"Sir, those men? The Uchiha? I've dreamt of their eyes."

He glanced down at her, more interested in what she had to say than he had been all day. He still didn't say anything so she continued on.

"I feel like I've seen them before."

He remained silent but the set of his mouth told her he was considering the information she'd just told him. He obviously didn't care to elaborate for her though, as he merely continued striding forwards through the woods.

* * *

**Thanks for reading. Thanks for the reviews. And thanks for following and faving - you're all far too kind!**

**Please, do give me feedback on dialogue and such. (I had forgotten how hard it is to write and to make it sound normal!)**

**I've tended to write Tobirama as speaking a bit more archaically and pretty blunt. He seems to think more than he says is the impression I get from the cannon stuff...**

**Hope it's been enjoyable and readable!**

**Also I've just realised I must look like a terrible speller to some of you but I spell the British way :)**


	5. Chapter 5

When his arms began to tire, he conceded that they should rest. Rain had started to fall anyway and he thought it best not to get her too cold – she'd heal slower if she sickened. Tobirama was very aware she had been in quite considerable pain for some time but if she chose not to complain then he would not coddle her.

He selected a mossy cave to settle in, despite its obvious location and subsequently, the risk of ambush. He could keep a larger fire going in there without it being spotted by passing shinobi – an advantage that outweighed its risks. Besides, Tobirama was confident he could defend it for an evening if necessary. He lay the girl down gently and proceeded to construct a smokeless fire. It wasn't long before the girl fell asleep, fatigued from enduring the constant ache of her wounds.

She squirmed in her sleep, her hands clawing at her chest, as if she were hurt. Tears rolled down her cheeks and then she was still for a time. He chewed thoughtfully on a piece of preserved meat from his pack. _"Uchiha in her dreams. Well there's hundreds around. Strange that she claims not to know the clan who wield it. Her little meeting with Madara probably just scared her_. _Or she's just lying to keep me interested._"

His thoughts then turned to Madara himself. _"That night, they turned their Sharingan on me and yet they did not use it against me. A ploy or a true attempt at a truce?"_ Regardless of this interesting behaviour, he was reluctant to report anything to Hashirama; knowing his brother would jump at any chance to reach out to his old friend.

He was disturbed from his thoughts as the girl screamed suddenly, he rushed forward to quiet her but she still thrashed uncontrollably under his hand. She awoke with a jolt, choking even after he released her. Her wide green eyes darted around the cave, searching for a terror that wasn't there.

"I, I-" She spluttered "Those eyes but… but the ringed eyes…?"

This caught his attention. Ringed eyes? He held her shoulders firmly, he gave them a squeeze, looking deep into her own jade orbs.

"What ringed eyes? What did they look like?"

"One and one red…" She babbled.

"What did the ringed eye look like?" He repeated more clearly.

"The sclera it was gone. Just endless rings."

"What colour were they?"

"Purple."

He released her and let her collapse downwards. Absentmindedly, he rested his hand on her shoulder, patting soothingly as he thought. _"The Sage's Eyes. Interesting. Now that's something she definitely can't have seen before. She shouldn't even know of them, they've not been seen for centuries. Is she making it up? Or is she really dreaming this?"_

"What else did you see?"

He looked down at her as she chewed her lip. A sudden stillness froze her features and she paled. Shock and pain flittered across her face. Her hand flew to her chest and she grasped tightly with trembling hands.

_"The same place as when she was dreaming."_ He noted.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing."

Tobirama grabbed her hand, pulling her up and studied it. Nothing unusual there, next he tugged the large shirt off of her shoulders baring her breasts and torso, it pooled around her slender waist. She didn't bother to fight him and instead stared at her chest as if she couldn't comprehend what she saw. Relief washed over her and she relaxed, slumping to the ground, her chest rising and falling with shuddering breaths. Tobirama didn't see anything unusual, no mark; not a thing except the self-inflicted scratches. Suddenly, realising that he'd stripped her without permission, he turned away – ashamed of his crass actions.

"Dress yourself." He ordered, gruffly.

For a moment she did nothing, before finally responding, sitting up slowly and covering herself once more. He expected her to react to his un-honourable actions but she sat in silence. He sheepishly began to prepare some more food, unwilling to apologise and draw attention to the humiliating nature of his rudeness. Those were not the actions of an honourable Senju. He halted when her tiny hand reached out to take his much larger one. He glanced sideways at her, afraid to meet her gaze as she bought his hand first to her arm.

"Here, that's where one hurt me."

She moved his hand across the thick material of the Uchiha shirt, until it rested on her left breast above her heart.

"Here, this is where the other hurt me when I saw the eyes."

Tobirama didn't know what she spoke of but the solemnness of her eyes told him not to inquire further. She stared into the dancing flames of the fire in a trance-like daze. Gently, he tugged his hand away from her chest, aware of how inappropriately he had already behaved tonight.

"You should lie down. Your side is bad enough as it is." He murmured in low tones.

She stayed sat, watching into the warm light of the fire before curling away from him on her right side. Tobirama inwardly cursed himself. He'd behaved appallingly, he'd never been so bold with a girl before. He must have frightened her, but why had she drawn his hand back? "_The Rinnegan and her dreams… what could she have meant? It could have been an act. But she genuinely seemed to be in pain… She's hiding something from me. I've seen her clutch her chest before in her sleep." _The fire crackled and spat in the absence of their words. Small flames twisted upwards, licking at the cool, damp air of the cave.

Tobirama leaned back against the moist walls of the cave, he let his head fall back and gazed at the shadows playing on the roof. Outside, the sound of rain dripping through the trees was intermixed with the calls of night birds and the whisper of wind through leaves. As he listened he heard the birds' cries reach an angry crescendo _"Something is coming."_

He crept forward, touching the girl gently on the shoulder and indicating toward the entrance of the cave. Her pupils dilated, understanding his meaning and she quietly slipped a hand into his thigh holster. He tensed but allowed her to move her hand up his leg. The girl stealthily tucked the kunai she had taken into the folds of her shirt before nodding for him to continue. Tobirama considered putting out the fire but it was likely the threat already knew they were there and the resulting darkness would only provide advantage to the potential attackers if they were Hyūga or Uchiha.

He moved forward, carefully selecting the most sheltered area of the entrance way and melting into the shadows. _"I'll leave the girl in the open as bait. If they're thoughtless they'll go straight for her._" Her pink hair glowed like a beckon after all. He concentrated on masking his chakra, watching the mouth of the cave for any movement. His breath hissed out like smoke in the cold air, curling in white wisps, illuminated like clouds by the soft light of the fire. _"Perhaps I should have put it out."_ But it was too late to return now, he'd give himself away.

As always, the wait was unbearable. Every shadow hid a potential enemy. Every sound could be the last he heard. But still he crouched patiently, fingers pressed against damp, cool rock. Eventually, he was rewarded as two figures slunk in noiselessly, moving towards the curled figure of the girl on the floor. "_Well they haven't declared themselves, doesn't look like the want to talk." _Tobirama noted, he decided he'd give them one more chance before he began his assault.

They scanned the cave carefully, looking for potential threats. Their eyes grazed over Tobirama and he held his breath. They seemed not to notice him, hidden in the shadows of the rocks. They were getting too close to the girl. He dared not collect chakra in his feet, in preparation for attack, or try to sense if there were more coming. Tobirama couldn't risk revealing himself yet. He needed to know numbers before he acted.

He heard the snap of a branch from outside. _"So there are more."_

One of the shinobi drew a kunai and his partner followed suit. _"Last chance gone."_ He assessed the distance between the girl and the two approaching her. Could she sense them? She was turned away from them and still as a corpse. He just needed to know how many were outside before he dealt with those two. The backup would be the real danger. Waiting to kill him from behind when he approached the two already inside – they were already out of projectile range. He would have to go after those outside first he decided. _"Those two should turn back for me when I make my move_."

He allowed his not insubstantial chakra to surge flamboyantly, hoping to attract their attention, as he gathered it to the balls of his feet and launched himself from his hiding place. He used the side of the cave to push off and propel himself out into the open. As he hurtled out, he was pleased to see the two inside turn to stare at him. He should have bought some time for the girl, he was a much more important target to them, distinctively Senju. As soon as he hit the floor outside, shruiken thundered into the ground around him. He spun away, dashing between the trees. His enemies foolishly kept up their barrage of weapons, giving away their static locations.

_"Two ahead, two behind."_

He drew his katana, spearing the floor and using it to push up and away from the ground. Glistening metal hummed through the air where he had just been. Airborne, he drew his own shruiken. He threw only one, knowing he'd get that target. The others he kept between his fingers, scanning for the other three shinobi, who would have by now moved. One foolishly dashed forward, attempting to slash at him before he could land. Tobirama allowed himself to plummet head first towards the attacker using gravity to accelerate faster than the shinobi could react.

His opponent tried to raise his sword in defence but Tobirama twisted away from the gleaming blade. Spinning, he reached for his victim's neck, using the shruiken like claws to tear through the throat. He used his other hand to pivot himself upright, utilising the still vertical dead man as an anchor point. Tobirama briefly sheltered behind the standing corpse as multiple kunai thudded into the body. He inhaled deeply, before allowing it to drop as he snatched up his sword and moved toward the next target. _"Two."_

A shruiken whistler past his ear, attached to ninja wire. He flicked his katana upwards, allowing the cord to wrap around the blade and pulled. A figure behind a nearby trunk stumbled forward, surprised his own weapon had been used against him. He was easy defeat, off balance and too slow to react to Tobirama's flashing blade. He paused. Silence, no weapons flew towards him. Either this one was smart or he was gone.

Tobirama's chakra flared, searching for the last. To his dismay, he realised the opponent had moved toward the cave. In a flash he was at the entrance. He bought his around katana in a swooping arch as he dashed past his fourth victim. The man crumpled behind him as he rushed forward toward the original two. One swivelled, the other was bent over the girl, reaching for her hair. They obviously had decided he was too much to handle or perhaps they wanted a hostage. Before he could reach them, one fell, an ugly scream gurgling from his lips.

The girl had twisted like a viper on the floor, slashing cleanly through his Achilles tendon with her hidden kunai. The other rushed forward to grab her, kicking the kunai from her hand. It skittered noisily across the rock floor. She scrabbled backward toward the fire but he stooped and lifted her before she could escape. The man clasped her dainty neck, squeezing. Tobirama finally reached them, finishing the one on the floor with a hasty, undignified stab, he had to reach the last before her neck got snapped. As he straightened and turned to kill, he was surprised to see the girl smiling at her attacker. He soon saw why, as the man quickly dropped her, clawing at his eyes in agony. The girl let the rest of glowing orange embers fall from her charred hand and fell backwards. _"She wasn't trying to escape."_ Tobirama realised with a smirk _"She was looking for another weapon._"

The man thrashed angrily, trying to strike out at her. She yelped as a foot collided with her injured side. The man roared and surged forward toward her, grabbing her ankle and dragging her toward him. Her nails tore at the rocks as she tried to find a hand hold. Tobirama's katana slashed through the shinobi's neck before the man could do anything further. He needed to gather his things and get himself and the girl to a new location as quickly as possible. He paused, staring in shock at the wild girl at his feet. She clutched the wrist of her burnt hand shaking but was tensed and ready. _"Definitely not a civilian."_ He mused.

* * *

The girl hissed as her body was jolted. _"I can't keep this up. All I've managed to do is hurt myself._" She inwardly grumbled. The pain was making her irritable and though she knew Tobirama shouldn't slow down, in case of a tail, she damn well wished he would. Her hand was covered in pus filled bubbles, which pulsated disturbingly. In other areas, the skin had charred black. She'd have to get it in water soon or risk the burn worsening beyond repair. Tobirama seemed to read her mind, as his deep voice broke her out of her brooding.

"We'll head up the river, there's large rocks we can find cover between. I can protect us there."

She nodded, grateful but doubtful, a river would be incredibly exposed – they'd be sitting ducks and she _had_ to get down to the open water to cool her hand. It only took a few more minutes of running until they were close enough to hear the river. Tobirama ran parallel to the roaring water, hidden by tree cover, until he seemed satisfied he'd reached a safe spot. The girl eyed the rocks by the river with great scepticism. The boulders were too far from the bank for her to get at the water.

She was surprised when he strode past the boulders and carried on across the water. The dark torrents raged below his feet but he marched across the top as if it were as still as ice. He took her to a small islet of several large rocks in the centre of the thundering river. There was a damp hollow between some of the bigger stones, just large enough for two people to squeeze into. He carefully wedged her low in the rocks, nearer the current - so she could dip her hand in the cold, relieving water. He himself, perched uncomfortably above her; somehow balancing between two boulders.

She gasped and bit her lip as the water surged against her hand. It wouldn't have surprised her if the power of the water ended up taking off a fair bit of skin. Her vision began to swim as the shock finally hit her. _"Oh god I'm going to be sick"_. She felt the saliva build in her mouth and her stomach churn. Swaying, she concentrated on breathing, spitting a few times to rid herself of the unpleasant sensation.

"I would have got them in time, you know?" Tobirama commented matter-of-factly. "You have injured yourself needlessly."

The girl grunted, begrudgingly acknowledging his statement. _"I was fucking stupid. But I wasn't about to sit around and wait for him to save me."_ At the time she hadn't known what else to do. As the girl waited for her hand to go numb in the freezing water, she lost herself in the memory of the attack.

* * *

**Love writing Tobirama. He's too much fun :)**

**Thank you so much for the reviews, they help to hopefully keep me on the right track.**

**I think I've got a bit more of an idea where to take the story after this - though I feel as if I need to get these two to know each other before I start any romances or take the plot too far. (Though if Tobirama keeps up his good work looking under her top it might progress faster than I intended ;D!). **

**Unfortunately, until Sakura remembers a bit more of her past life, she's going to be a bit more accident prone but at least she's still a fighter!**

**I finally found a way to name her... that'll be in a few chapters time!**

**And yeah I think I will work in a bit more of her past adult life if I can (reluctant to confirm any past pairings until the Last Movie is out, as that's gonna provided some serious answers). **

**So please let me know if I've made horrible mistakes and also any feedback of anything you'd like to happen. And for any Uchiha fans out there, don't you worry - Madara will be back...**


	6. Chapter 6

_She felt an enormous surge of something shoot out of the cave. It was as if the heat had been sucked out of the air, though it grew no colder. The girl couldn't put her finger on what it could have been. She guessed it had something to do with Tobirama. But the sensation had been familiar and her body itched in recognition. She felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up in excitement, her hands tingled, feeling oddly warm. _

_Unsure what it all meant, she lay very still waiting for him to return or for the trespassers to go after him. The intruders paused, two voices whispering to one another. One thought Tobirama had abandoned her and apparently the other wanted to follow the "Senju" outside to help finish him. Eventually, they're quiet bickering stopped. They had decided to approach her - probably hoping she was vulnerable or possibly sleeping unawares. The girl sucked her teeth thoughtfully. The fight outside had already lasted a few minutes. _

_"_Multiple opponents."_ She concluded in her head "_Tobirama's battle is going to take longer than it will take for these two to reach me".

_She fingered the concealed kunai lightly, listening to the sound of their footsteps, they would be within slashing range soon. She had accepted she'd have to start the fight before Tobirama arrived to help her. "_I'll have turn on my bad side to attack, so it's probably in my best interests to wait for them to be nice and close. I've only got limited range right now_" She thought. The wound on her side restricted her mobility and flexibility. She wasn't yet sure how she'd bring both down before they could retaliate or land a blow on her. _

_Timing would be everything. She drew in a long, silent breath. They were right behind her now. She watched the shadow of a hand glide soundlessly over her left shoulder. Tense, she waited for the right moment to strike._

_A gurgle and a thud echoed down the cave from near the entrance – a distraction. She whipped around, ignoring the agonising pain and ducking under the out reached hand. She was in luck, one shinobi had swivelled to see who was approaching and she mercilessly sliced through flesh and tendon of his exposed ankle. As he fell, the other attacked, kicking her weapon painfully from her hand. Her eyes darted backwards. There was nothing else she could use to defend herself. Then she saw the ring of ash by fire _

_"_If I can take out his vision I'll be able to get the kunai again_". She scrabbled backwards, trying to look more frightened than she was - attempting to cover what she was really doing. _

_Her hand reached the ashes surrounding the fire just as the man bent forward, clasping her neck. She had no time. Desperately she snatched at the floor behind her and blanched as she accidently scooped burning embers into her palm. The pain was blinding, her vision blackened but she held onto her makeshift weapon. The man lifted her by the throat, she could feel his warm rancid breath on her face. He squeezed her throat, his meaty hands crushing her windpipe. Little piggy eyes widened madly at her, blood shot and delighted. His mouth curled into a leer. She smiled back at him and rubbed the blistering embers into his insane eyes with satisfaction. _

_He threw her to the floor. The adrenaline coursing through her veins took the edge off of the pain and she moved backward, trying to avoid his animalistic thrashing limbs. He managed to make contact with her injured side with a lucky kick. The girl wretched, her vision wobbling nastily. Her attacker caught the sound and grabbed her ankle before she could escape his reach. He pulled hard but she dug her nails in, they cracked nastily on the hard rock. As he dragged her closer, she raised her free leg – ready to kick him hard in the crotch. But he fell, blood spraying dramatically from a clean line across his neck, before she could do so._

_Tobirama stood over her, apparently unruffled from his fight. The pale shock of his hair contrasted beautifully with the freckles of blood had beaded into glistening rubies, clinging to his angular face. The droplets stretched, streaking down his emotionless face like crimson tears. The girl swallowed. Deep, dark eyes stared down at her, unreadable._

* * *

"Huh?!" She started, snapping out of her memory at the sound of Tobirama's irritated voice.

"For the third time, I asked if you were alright?"

She craned her neck to look up at him, he looked so frog like - legs bent, knees almost about his ears- that she couldn't resist laughing. He glowered down at her.

"What's so funny?"

"Nothing, nothing." She smiled before frowning seriously. "Look, I'm sorry I got myself more injured. I know I've been nothing but trouble. I just didn't know if you'd come back."

"Hn." He scowled grumpily, returning his gaze to watching the river. Nonplussed by his attitude, she turned her attention back to her hand. Which she gingerly pulled from the water. The wounded flesh had swollen grotesquely and turned an unpleasant greyish colour from the cold. At least the burning had eased to a mere pulsating warmth. She regarded her palm distastefully - the blisters still looked absolutely repulsive, so she stuck her hand back in.

She glanced back up to the crouched figure, he looked very pensive. Even though he was as still as the rocks around him, she could see his muscles were taught, poised for action. His elbows casually rested on his knees and he spun a kunai smoothly in one hand. The girl watched the silver blade as it looped in lazy arcs around his long fingers. As usual, his face gave away nothing about his mood or thoughts, he just stared out across the turbulent waters. She couldn't help thinking that maybe he felt a bit put out that she hadn't been more grateful. So she threw him a bone.

"Thank you for helping me out."

He grunted again and she rolled her eyes. She was sincerely grateful he was caring for her whilst she recovered but she couldn't stand this tense, unfriendly atmosphere. It also bothered her that he seemed to assume she was completely helpless. Something about his disinterested attitude felt strangely familiar and incredibly infuriating. She decided to try a different tact to warm him up to her. _"Pride be damned! Flattery will get you everywhere."_ She mused to herself; he certainly seems the type who likes his ego being stroked.

"Tobirama-sama…" She paused, waiting for him to acknowledge her. His deep burgundy eyes briefly met hers before sliding back to the river.

"I owe you my life. And, er, I hope that one day I can repay you. Thank you for coming back for me." She tried hopefully. He regarded the distance coolly, then nodded slightly, turning his face so it was obscured from her view. It was a long while before he answered her.

"That cloak was expensive, I didn't want to leave it behind." He gestured without looking, to the fur trimmed, deep blue garment she had wrapped around her shoulders. It was silent for a moment. She glanced back at her hand, a bit lost for words. Then began to laugh again.

This time, hearing her happy giggles Tobirama allowed himself a small smile – but only because he was sure she couldn't see.

* * *

The night passed slowly, neither could sleep due to their precarious location. Soon they would have to move on. Day was a better time to travel than night. The clans were more inclined to look the other way and allow others to pass. The sun crept over the horizon, the sky was a soft lavender, clear for once of clouds.

Tobirama loved dawn time. It felt like a new start. He admired the glittering river coursing below them, it reflected the morning light like thousands of tumbling gems. He found that he felt peaceful -despite the tumultuous night.

"I'm sorry to bother you, Tobirama-sama…" Came a small tentative voice from beneath him "I really need to put something on this hand now. I'm worried about infection."

"I don't have any salves." He replied in monotone. Really what could he do with the girl? He would have to get her to a healer fast.

"I could make a salve." She replied, sounded puzzled by her own statement.

"I just need some erm, Calendula… it's erm… it's like a…" She stuttered sounding thoroughly unconvinced by the words coming out of her mouth.

"Ah! It's like an orange daisy!" She sounded triumphant – something had obviously fallen into place.

_"Terrible memory."_ He seethed silently.

"Please, Tobirama-sama, could we look for some perhaps?"

_"You mean could I carry you around pointlessly, wasting time?"_ The young man thought irritably.

"No, I'll just bring it to you." He shifted his weight, trying to ignore the pins and needles in his legs. It'd be a good excuse to get some alone time "I'll be back shortly."

Tobirama didn't wait for her reply, before he jumped from their hiding place, landing lightly on the water. He glanced around before departing with considerable speed, keen to return the feeling to his legs. It felt good to run unhindered. He revelled in the freedom from his heavy burden of pack and girl. Wind whipped through his hair as he picked up the pace. Water sprayed underfoot, he'd never get over running on water. Even after all these years, it somehow felt… dreamlike. When his muscles felt loose, he slowed and began his search.

Tobirama quickly began to regret rushing off without the girl. He didn't bloody know what the plant looked like. Flowers were women's territory. Frustrated, he decided to pull up anything orange. She could figure out which was right. His mood darkened - quite frankly embarrassed that he didn't know what a basic healing herb looked like – he wouldn't be able to stand it if the idiot girl mocked him for it. When he deemed he'd gathered enough different specimens for at least one of flowers to be the right one, he petulantly skulked back to their hiding place.

"Here." He muttered when he reached her, thrusting the flowers, their hairy roots still shedding clumps of soil, toward her. He expected her to laugh at him again or perhaps comment on his lack of precision in locating the cursed flower. But, she just smiled at him, her wide green eyes glowing with warmth. One tiny hand brushed against his as she accepted the child like bouquet. She stared down at it, almost admiring it. After a thoughtful pause, she selected several inconspicuous flowers and laid the rest to one side.

"Thank you, Tobirama-sama." She murmured quietly, lowering her eyes demurely. He nodded briefly and turned away. He decided his time would be best spent scouting whilst she ministered to her burn.

When he returned, she sat looking dreamily at the sky, a bare foot hanging in the cold water. The spare flowers were gone and her burnt hand rested in her lap, smeared in a thick goop. He sincerely hoped she hadn't been foolish enough to let the rest of the flowers float down the river - a lurid orange signal of their presence here. But, he couldn't really be bothered to bring it up, instead slinging his pack onto his shoulders and offering a hand to the girl. Her good hand clasped his and he hauled her to her feet. Her eyes squeezed shut and winced but she didn't complain as he lifted her. He thanked the gods that, whilst she was certainly a walking disaster, she wasn't a whiner.

He crossed the river and began the long walk up hill that lead to his clan's lands. He was relieved that she didn't try to speak to him further. He often found her syntax odd and her words slightly perturbing. Whilst she had at least begun to address him with proper formality, her sentences and tone were rather colloquial. Her intermittent flashes of intelligence bothered him as well. _"Knowledge of healing herbs, capable use of a kunai… She may well be a trained kunoichi"_. It seemed he had been right to be wary of her a few nights ago. But then again, the softness of her body didn't match up with that conclusion, even those kunoichi who wielded seduction as a weapon had some blemish from their work.

Tobirama thought back to treating her wounds. He'd found no scars then, not a single callous – just fresh wounds.

_"Perhaps poison is her speciality._"

That was reasonable logic but he couldn't shake the uncomfortable feeling that something was out of place. He wondered what life she'd led before she'd fallen into the clearing. She clearly had terrible nightmares. And the girl had been strangely unashamed of her nakedness in front of strange men. Furthermore, she'd not avoided him after he'd practically stripped her. Any respectable woman would have been frightened after all that!

Perhaps she was a prostitute of sorts... That would explain why she was so comfortable parading around in Madara's shirt – which, though large on her, concealed very little of her long legs. Tobirama, filed his conclusions away safely in his mind, time would surely provide further evidence to support his hypotheses.

He was surprised by a soft snore. The girl had actually fallen asleep, her round cheek squashed against her shoulder, injured hand awkwardly hanging away from her body. For once she looked peaceful as she dreamt. Gods he was envious, he hated to admit it but he was very tired. He was used to forgoing sleep – recently, the violence of the clan wars had reached an all-time high and the number of night raids had soared – but he didn't usually carry such heavy baggage. His reactions would inevitably be dulled from the fatiguing events of the last few days.

The family lands were still a day away at the very least. Tobirama would have to rest, if only briefly, if he wanted to be in fighting shape for the last leg of the journey.

He wasn't sure if he could trust the girl to watch over him if he chose to sleep. _"But unless she has back up following us, she doesn't stand a chance without me._"

He hadn't felt the presence of anyone following them and he doubted anyone could hide their chakra for this long without making a mistake and revealing themselves. He decided to risk it, scanning the area for somewhere he could rest. Concealing the girl would be a problem, soft pink hair wasn't exactly subtle. The dark clothes they wore were also fairly inconspicuous during the day.

Tobirama kept striding onwards, unwilling to rest until he had found a good place. The trees were better in these parts: larger, sturdier. If he could find a branch big enough they could rest safely above the ground. He could lay suitable traps around a tree as well and it was unlikely they could be cornered – he decided that a tree would be the best plan.

_"I'll have to find one with dark bark. Our clothes shouldn't be too obvious then_."

An idea struck him. "_Ha, of course."_

He purposely changed his direction, and followed the horizontal curve of the hill rather than the upward slope. He headed toward the area where he knew a cluster of cherry trees grew. It was hanami season and they'd provide a cover of cloud-like pink blossom. Perfect for concealing the girl. Tobirama was happy they wouldn't be spotted in that part of the forest, since the violence had escalated, it was unlikely anyone would be out admiring the trees. It didn't take him long to find the distinctive trees. Beautiful swirls of petals tumbled from the laden branches, whose heavy ends trailed in the waters of a small pond, where fallen blossom spun gracefully atop the murky green beneath.

_"Perfect." _He liked to be near water, it gave him the advantage.

The cherry trees' ebony bark was dark enough to hide their clothing. Though his green dou would not fit in very well. But, Tobirama wasn't about to take that off. He chose the largest tree, an ancient thing, bent double under the weight of its blooms. He settled the girl in a bough, securing her by her ankle to a nearby branch. He unwrapped her from the blue cloak, which he stowed away, hidden from view. Next, the silver haired man worked quickly, setting as many traps as he dared with his limited supplies. The girl was awake by the time he'd finished.

"You look awful." She commented rudely, staring at the bags under his eyes. He bristled but sat beside her, tying the end of a long wire string to his sandal. _"I see her formality earlier was merely an attempt to get on my good side."_ He grumbled in his head. She seemed unaware of her faux pas - not even apologising! Instead, her eyes followed the glinting thread, tracing its complicated path that spider-webbed from tree to tree around them.

"I need to sleep. You keep watch." He commanded haughtily, crossing his arms across his chest. "I will awaken if anything approaches us within projectile range. Don't give us away. Don't fall asleep."

"I'm not an idiot." She barked back at him.

He gave her a withering look before closing his eyes firmly. He doubted that statement was true. The girl shuffled next to him, muttering something under her breath that he couldn't quite catch. She eventually stilled once more, her shoulder pressing into his side.

Tobirama dozed, occasionally stirring – not able to sleep deeply, concerned about leaving himself vulnerable. He snapped out of his dreamy slumber as he felt the girl's hand reach across him. He resisted the urge to stop her, pretending to still be sleeping. It was a good opportunity to test her intentions. Her fingers grazed his thigh lightly, fiddling with his weapons pouch. He tingled with anticipation as she drew something from within, cautiously lifting it free so as not to wake him. Tobirama should have known better than to trust her. He awaited her next move but she made none.

After a tense few minutes passed, one of his merlot eyes cracked open slightly. It seemed he'd slept for quite some time before she'd woken him with her fumbling, the late afternoon sun cast intricate shadows as it fell through the blossom. Her head was angled away from him, staring out past the branches of the tree. Her heart shaped face was mottled with elaborate black and orange patterns from the dusky light. The kunai she'd stolen was clutched firmly in her good hand, which rested on her bare thigh.

"Is it a habit of yours not to respect your superiors? You're really not much of a lady -theft is extremely unbecoming."

Tobirama was satisfied as she jumped, turning round in a flash. Her mouth gaped open, flapping like a fish out of water. He remained slouched in his sleeping position but raised his eyebrows, and pointedly looked at the kunai in her hand. She scowled and tightened her grip on it defensively.

"You're not my superior. I don't even know you." She blurted.

"Tired of playing little lost girl now, are you?"

"Shut up! I've just been trying to be polite!"

His eyebrows shot up further. She had some nerve, trying to weasel into his good books before with just a few formalities and thinking it was good enough to excuse theft. _"Just look at her now: so crass, uncultured."_

"Polite? Addressing me by my proper title is expected of an underlying. It is protocol." He enjoyed watching her grind her teeth savagely.

"Well I am sorry Tobirama-sama, I apologise for not meeting your expectations." Her voice dripped with sarcasm. He ignored her tone and replied with a smirk.

"I'll let that slide for now."

She seethed, green eyes narrowed dangerously.

"But you have stolen from me." He continued, pretending to be ignorant to her vile mood. This seemed to be the last straw, she pointed the kunai at him, waving it threateningly.

"Stolen!? I borrowed it! You left me to guard you unarmed. How could I defend you unarmed?!"

He shot forward, grabbing her wrist and squeezing until she was forced to drop the knife. She tugged violently, trying to break free from his hold. Slowly, he moved his face close to hers, his lips grazed her cheek as he whispered dangerously in her ear.

"Defend me? You?" He paused as she began to struggle angrily. He increased the pressure, waiting till she winced and fell still.

"You should think twice before you take something of mine again." He purred before he pulled away, releasing her.

The girl glowered at him, her expression black with fury. But she said nothing. Her behaviour tempted him to push her, to test her – he wanted to find out sooner rather than later about what she was capable of. Tobirama met her eyes impassively, he languidly stretched and slid his hand onto her leg moving it up, slowly, toward her lap where the kunai had fallen. His fingers trailed on her soft skin before reaching the pooled material of her shirt and grasping the weapon. Neither broke eye contact, staring analytically at each other, unblinking. Slowly, he skimmed the knife along the folds of the material that barely covered her thighs, allowing it to snag in the fabric, exposing a little more leg. His hand lingered, hovering, near the curve of her hip, before he finally pulled away - tucking the kunai back into his weapons pouch.

Air hissed through her teeth angrily.

"And if I were you, I'd think twice before you touch me like that again." She growled, her tone low and dangerous. The girl clenched her hand in a fist, jagged filthy nails dug into her palm hard enough to draw a little blood. She did not strike out at him though. Somehow, it didn't lessen the promised threat in her voice.

Tobirama looked her up and down dismissively, before bending forward and untying the string from his foot. The metal bit into his fingers as he spooled it neatly round his hand. He pushed himself up and began to set about collecting the weapons he'd left as traps. He didn't believe in pointless waste.

He jumped from the tree, turning over their small interaction in his mind, assessing what he could learn from it. He cringed, face reddening. His behaviour had past his comfort zone, let alone hers. Still, pushing the boundaries was the best way to get an estimate of her true character. Based on her reaction to his ungracious actions, she certainly was not a regular girl – any untrained woman would have been terrified of him – he decided to rule this possibility out once and for all. And, she had spoken with the ferocity of a fighter. And yet… A trained enemy kunoichi would have used that situation to their advantage… Seduction was their greatest weapon. Once again her behaviour seemed not to match any of his prototypes.

_"Such a strange creature."_

Tobirama smiled, keen to figure out the enigma of a girl. The young man slid his eyes sideways, her stormy expression hadn't changed. She obviously was going to make it difficult for him from now.

_"I'll probably have to try to be a bit more diplomatic for now, if I want to learn anything more."_


	7. Chapter 7

The girl seethed but remained propped against the tree trunk. It wasn't like she could go anywhere anyway. But she promised herself, she'd make him regret it if he did anything like that again. She couldn't believe it! Her face burned with humiliation. He'd stared at her with such smug, knowing eyes as he'd worked his way up her leg, hand lingering too long, too presumptuously. Then, even after she'd warned him, he'd given her that condescending once over!

She wasn't afraid - she was just furious. He'd tried to intimidate her sure enough, but there'd been no leer in his expression. She had, however, seen an intelligent flash in his eyes as he'd stared across at her. The bastard had been testing her – that's why he'd done it. The fact he had been playing games was what made her feel uneasy, why was he really looking after her? The girl was sure now he had some ulterior motive for keeping her alive. She just didn't know what it was yet. This put her in a tricky position - if she made a wrong move he might cease to find her useful for whatever purpose he had planned for her. And if her usefulness died, she guessed it wouldn't bode well for her.

Her mind whirred, she realised not only did she know nothing about herself, she knew nothing about him. Nothing of his motivations, likes or dislikes. With a little bit of information, she would feel a lot safer. Her only choices currently were: shut up, don't react, watch and learn or play up to his little game and try and garner information that way. Both had their risks but the latter was infinitely more dangerous. She suspected his preferred state of brooding silence was time well spent calculating and planning his next move.

She decided on the first option of action. She'd avoid reacting to him as much as possible. His behaviour towards her had purpose and right now she had no way of knowing whether she was passing or failing his little tests. Still, if he touched like that again, she'd make good on her threat.

Her eyes followed him suspiciously whenever she could spot him from her perch. He stalked around with lithe grace, his actions were always efficient, controlled and quick. His armour looked well made, flexible and most definitely expensive. She recalled the conversation where he'd told her his name. He'd seem so full of pride when he spoke his clan name, his self-reverence and insistence that she addressed him properly was also a tell-tale give away of high class heritage. The other men from the first night must be from another rival clan, they certainly seemed unfriendly toward Tobirama and he to them. They had also been similarly attired and just as arrogant. The first night, Tobirama had made several pointed comments about her possible affiliation with the "Uchiha".

_"It is possible,_" she thought "_That he believes I am their ally or that I have information about them_".

She made a mental note to be careful not to inquire too much about them in future. She didn't want to give herself away as being any more oblivious, than she already had. He might not find her so useful if he knew how ignorant she really was. Hopefully he thought all her previous comments and questions were a bluff – an attempt to throw him off finding out the supposed truth.

His silvery haired head bobbed up and down as he undid a particularly deadly looking contraption he'd set up a few feet away. Tobirama was indeed a good shinobi. He appeared to be strong too; a good fighter, already showing he was capable of taking on vastly unfair odds. However, she had to say, he didn't strike her as a great diplomat – choosing to fight his way out of an ambush, rather than negotiate. Despite this flaw, it seemed to her, that he usually came up with effective strategies – whether it was for fighting, finding shelter or for annoying her…

To his credit , he'd also managed to keep her alive for a few days now - despite her best efforts to maim herself in her apparent mission to fail at surviving this whole ordeal. Still, her observations didn't tell her much that she could actually work with. She'd bide her time for now, she'd keep watching and analysing until he gave away something good.

It seemed Tobirama had finished collecting his various weapons and tools now. He calmly walked horizontally up the trunk of the tree, his great mop of hair hanging away from his angular face. He paused, thoughtfully inspecting the beautiful pink flowers, and bent to cut a sprig of blossom from a lower branch. He surprised the girl by offering it to her when he reached the bow she sat on. She must have gaped at him because he unexpectedly reddened, rubbing the back of his head.

"A peace offering." He explained.

She accepted it but still squinted distrustfully at him through narrowed eyes, her jaw set in resolute silence. He cleared his throat, clearly uncomfortable.

"I've been thinking. If you don't know your name, you should make one up. It is impolite for me to keep referring to you as 'you'."

This time the girl boggled at him. She doubted very much that he'd been thinking anything of the sort. In fact, she was pretty sure he'd come up with it on the spot when he'd seen that the flowers weren't going to appease her.

Still, a name would be nice.

She twirled the sprig between her thumb and forefinger, watching the rosy petals blur together.

"Sakura." She replied. And it felt right.

* * *

Tobirama felt much sharper after resting. He could move faster as well. He'd made good progress since they'd left the cherry trees. The night was passing without incident, this side of the hill saw far less shinobi movements than the other: which lay between the lands of several clans.

It was just as well they'd taken this indirect route after all, the moon was high and large in the sky above. It lit the forest with bright white light. Nights like tonight, would have made them easy target practice if he'd gone the other way. As it was, he still stuck to the shadows as much as he could. His heart raced when had to run in the open, where jagged rocks had scarred the hill preventing the trees from growing. Thankfully, the gods seemed to be smiling down on him tonight.

The strange pale world around them looked beautiful and cold. It flashed by as he ran, large twisted trees mere blurs. Above the crest of the hill, he would find more familiar territories, allied lands – though still not his own. He'd be able to slow the pace there slightly. Tobirama had started to worry about the girl, she'd been very quiet since their departure – visibly wilting over the last few hours like her chosen name sake.

The girl – _"Sakura…"_ he reminded himself – looked feverish. Her skin shone with an unpleasant sheen. It looked as if she was having difficulty with her wounds, her eyelids fluttered weakly, as she tried to keep them open. Her glazed eyes rolled aimlessly and he wondered if she could actually see him looking down at her. She needed rest.

Regardless, he pushed on. Here was not the place.

The huge moon had fallen from the sky and the sun had risen to replace it, by the time he finally stopped. He'd chosen a shady spot under the thick cover of several scarlet acers. They were so low he had to crawl under the drooping branches to access the hiding place. Tobirama tried to make Sakura comfortable, arranging her on her back – burnt palm facing upward. The burn had crusted over but it had cracked, oozing thick yellow fluid. He glanced under her shirt and saw the wound on her side was in a similar condition. He sniffed and wrinkled his nose; it didn't smell great either. He had to get her to a healer as soon as possible.

He dug in his pack, drawing out the flask of water. Gently, he sat her up slightly, propping her against his knee. Sakura coughed gutturally as he tried to get her to drink but eventually she swallowed. Tobirama wasn't sure what to do with her, he supposed she'd need more of those orange flowers to make a salve with, if she came back around. He ripped a strip from the hem of his shirt, dampening it with the flask. Folding it neatly, he left it resting on her forehead – hoping it'd help break the fever.

"Tobirama…?" She wheezed.

He took her good hand and squeezed to let her know he was there. Her fingers weakly squeezed back. She shivered, despite sweating. Her eyes darted around sightlessly - her breathing shallow and laboured. Tobirama had wanted to go out and scout the area but was becoming reluctant to leave her. He decided he'd sit with her until she slept.

She seemed to slip in and out of consciousness, never properly sleeping. Sometimes her lips would form strange names, ones he couldn't quite catch. Occasionally, he'd try to get her to drink but it didn't seem to be helping.

She was dreaming fitfully when the water ran out. Tobirama decided it was time to scout; he'd refill the flask, maybe set a few traps and return. He tried to extract his hand from hers but she tugged him back with startling strength. For the first time in hours, her sea-green eyes focused on his face giving him an oddly lucid look.

"Nidaime-sama…" She murmured "You have to help Naruto… I can heal him…"

He found her words strange. Second? A shiver ran up his spine. And Naruto? She spoke as if it was a person. She was obviously very delirious now. He pried his fingers from hers, gently setting her hand back down.

"If anyone needs healing it's you." He told her and crouched, preparing to leave.

"Please take me to him." Sakura panted, fat tears spilt over her eyelashes, streaking clean lines down her dirty cheeks.

Tobirama decided to humour her.

"Yes, I'll take you to him soon." He confirmed softly, her eyes fluttered closed.

He moved away from her, looking back at her sleeping face before adding "Be quiet until I get back."

He crawled from under the carmine tangle of branches and carefully scanned the surrounding area. When he was sure the coast was clear, he left. It was a warm morning, which wouldn't help with her temperature. Tobirama was glade he'd chosen an especially shady spot. The area was good for hiding in - densely wooded. Trees and plants fought a silent slow battle, competing with each other for space. It would be hard for passing shinobi to spot them. After scouting the area he decided against setting traps, if anyone stumbled into one it would probably just allude to his and Sakura's presence. He could defend the spot, especially if they didn't realise the girl was there, hidden under the acers.

Next, he had to find water. It took him longer than he had planned for to find a small brook. It gurgled inconspicuously from the hillside, hidden by large leafy shrubs, a few hundred feet from their camp. He filled the canteen.

_"I shouldn't bother with the girl." _He thought tiredly, she made him feel strange. Seeing Sakura's ailing state had made the pit of his stomach feel odd as if his belly was full of stones. He didn't remotely like the sensation. He shook himself, he was a Senju- he wouldn't leave an injured young woman alone to die. He splashed cold water into his face and washed quickly, enjoying the refreshing, sobering clarity it bought to him.

Tobirama had dawdled here too long but the time alone had calmed his racing mind. He'd think of something to do about Sakura when he got back. He took his time walking back, carefully scanning the ground for any useful herbs he could recognize, still it didn't take him long to reach the area where the acers grew.

His heart skipped a beat when they came back into sight. The little trees twitched slightly in the breeze, branches swaying, lit from below by a soft green light.

Something was under there.

He'd left her vulnerable and alone.

Heart in mouth, he barrelled carelessly forward, snatching a kunai from his holster and scrabbling under the branches, not caring that they whipped and cracked down on him.

Sakura finally came into view.

Her pale skin illuminated sickeningly by the green glow.

Tobirama stopped, astonished. He cautiously crawled closer, lifting her hand. The glow faded. He stared for a long time at her smooth open palm. Tenderly he touched it, the new pink skin was soft under his calloused fingers.

* * *

**Thanks all :)**

**I hope the dialogue was ok in the last chapter.**

**Let me know what you think and thanks for the reviews they really help me shape the plot. It's good to know what bits of their personalities you like/don't like or what you want them to be achieving. **

**It might take a few chapters for the effects of your reviews to be seen but I am slowly working it all in there...**

**I think I'm settling into my style slowly. I know some of my sentences are a bit wordy but hopefully it'll iron out over time. I've also been experimenting with playing with length to convey tenseness or action (though that was more last chapter).**

**Thanks again and have a lovely day :)**


	8. Chapter 8

The world was frightening and confusing. People screamed, wood splintered as it smashed into the ground around them. Ragged pieces of shrapnel tore past her; impaling those too slow to move out of their deadly trajectory. Desperately, Sakura tried her best to save as many as she could but they were losing.

Bloody sand twisted in front of her, cocooning the shape of a limp body. It opened, like a blooming flower opening for the sun, revealing her golden boy.

Her Naruto…

The scene shifted, colours streaked past in the periphery of her vision. She only had eyes for the body in front of her.

She was flying now. Wind buffeting her as she pumped his torso rhythmically.

The war would be lost without him.

She couldn't lose him, he was their only hope.

He was her best friend.

Pressing her head to his chest she heard his heart beat slow. Its sickly sluggish rhythm thumped in her ears, until she couldn't hear anything else.

Utter terror flooded over her. The warm red cloak around her faded.

She wouldn't let him die.

She'd never let him die.

She screwed her eyes closed.

The wind threatened to tear his limp body away from her.

Her hand laced in his, pulling him back to her as he began to slip away. She blinked her hot tears away.

Lord Second looked down at her. Where was Naruto?

No time for questions - she needed to save Naruto.

"Nidaime-sama…" She tried to scream at him.

But her voice was painfully quiet.

She tried push herself up to find her best friend. But she was paralysed.

"You have to help Naruto… I can heal him…" She cried desperately.

She didn't know how but she was certain she could.

The fingers grasping hers fell away. Sakura couldn't stop her tears spilling over. She'd lost him. She'd let Naruto slip away.

"If anyone needs healing it's you." The Second commented.

But she'd barely been hurt?

She didn't understand. There wasn't time. She had to get back to him now.

The great Second turned away.

"Please take me to him." She begged. Silence stretched for an eternity until he answered.

"Yes, I'll take you to him soon."

She closed her eyes, relieved.

And there Naruto was again. Skin cooling, the warmth of his life leaving his body.

She gathered all the fear that swirled in her chest and pushed into her hands. They began to glow a beautiful soft green.

_"Chakra._" The word surged into her thoughts, demanding calm from her frantic mind.

She could do this.

Sakura laid her palms on his chest and forced the chakra – the heated medium for her hopes and will - into Naruto.

* * *

Tobirama knew he didn't need to keep up his ridiculous pace anymore. He'd already breached the crest of the last hill, which lay between these lands and the Senju lands, in record time. He was finally in his home territories, they should be safe from attack. And it wasn't like the girl looked as if she was going to die anymore… Though, she was still horribly sticky with sweat and she'd only managed to heal her hand. At least her fever was beginning to break. He stuck at his break neck speed because, well, just because he felt unnerved.

Sakura was going to be a lot more valuable to him than he'd thought.

A medic-nin – he couldn't believe his luck.

They were so rare; all the clans desperately needed them. There were very few in his own clan and they'd been losing men a steady rate for years now. They'd been losing more than just men… Hashirama would be delighted to work with her – his own prowess at healing was more effective on himself than others. However, this development had complicated things somewhat as well. Now Tobirama really needed to know exactly who she was and where she'd come from.

It was likely that whoever she was affiliated with would be looking for a prized resource like her.

Finally some things were beginning to click into place. Her abilities must be why she had no scars. The young man scowled _"It doesn't all add up though. Why was she left in that state to begin with? Why hadn't she healed herself before now?_"

There were a hundred answers to his questions – many of them pointed at her having unsavoury motives. Tobirama just couldn't be sure of anything yet. However, he couldn't risk taking her straight to his brother. Who knows what she might be planning – not that she was particularly lucid at the moment, she had just restlessly dreamed in his arms the entire way. Still, he'd take her to the old compound and find some answers before he let her near his family.

The Senju complex lay just beyond a shallow lake that marked the centre of their territories. The Senju had abandoned the compound a year or so ago due to the regular attacks. A static base had been hard to hide, the other clans had come back night after night – seeking revenge for the loss of their own people. It had eventually become impossible to defend when their numbers had dwindled. He hated the maze of buildings, it had been the place where many of his family had been murdered in their sleep, all because his father had been too proud to leave their ancestral home, preferring to lose lives than damage his pride. When Hashirama had ascended to clan leader, he and Tobirama had ensured the clan changed camp locations regularly. The death rate had since dropped but moving everyone safely was a struggle to coordinate.

When he arrived, Tobirama settled the girl into his old quarters, feeling confident that the enemy clans were unlikely to come looking for Senju here anymore. He stared around his empty room, the wooden floors had gathered dust since they'd left. His room was the size of eight tatami mats; which were long gone along with his futon and zabutons. The only features that remained were the intricately painted fusuma, and the square pit and wooden platform of his hori-gotatsu - though the blankets for this were somewhere with the rest of his family.

He left Sakura sleeping, wrapped in his cloak, whilst he searched the compound for anything useful. Tobirama found a few necessities scattered amongst the maze of rooms and buildings. He was pleased to discover some unburnt charcoal in the pit of someone else's hori-gotatsu. When the young man returned to his room, he tried to reconstruct his room to how it had been before. He placed some charcoal in the pit and threw a blanket over the low surface above. He piled several other ratty blankets on the floor to make a futon and moved Sakura onto these.

When he was done he took some of the earthen-ware he'd found and went to the nearest well. Tobirama filled two large jugs with the cool water, enjoying the brisk evening air. He drank deeply before carrying them back to his quarters. The tired young man returned to the well a few more times, filling as many pots and jugs as he could and taking them back to his room. He attempted to encourage Sakura to drink, managing to get her to swallow a few sips. After this, he visited the family's herb garden to collect some more supplies. Most of the plants had been pulled up and dried when the Senju had abandoned their home but a few stragglers remained. In the corner stood a small untended loquat tree which sagged under the weight of its over-ripe yellowy fruit - Tobirama was pleased that he managed to salvage a few edible ones, despite it being late in the season.

His next task was to fortify the area around his room. The outer shoji he rigged with near invisible wires that ran into his room, attached to edge of his blanket – so if anyone were to open them, it would tug the covers off his sleeping form and wake him. The fusuma that separated his room from the surrounding corridor and his brothers' rooms, he equipped with actual traps. Satisfied he'd taken enough precautions – except one - he settled next to Sakura and tied her ankle to his. He couldn't have her running into his traps whilst he was sleeping. He removed his Happuri and carefully laid it next to the makeshift futon.

Pulling the blanket over himself and the girl, Tobirama sighed deeply. Whilst she was sleeping, he'd take the liberty of sharing a bed with her – after all it made no sense for him to make himself unnecessarily uncomfortable. He lay on his back, watching the slit of light under the door gradually fade until the room was black. Even then, he continued to stare at the fusuma, remembering the long nights he'd spent in here, fearing he'd be next. His brother had always been there though, right next door. Whilst he thought his brother was a fool sometimes, Tobirama always felt safer when he was around. He shivered, he'd be all alone tonight. Tobirama shook his head crossly, he was a grown man and a strong shinobi – he didn't need his brother around anymore to help him sleep at night.

Hashirama may have always been the stronger of the two of them but Tobirama could definitely hold his own. They'd survived these clan wars, even as children fighting grown men. He could survive a night in his old room. As he lay, sleep evading him still, his thoughts turned to his two younger brothers, as they so often did at night. They'd died so young, so needlessly. Maybe if he or Hashirama had been with them, they'd still be alive. Guilt savagely twisted his gut. More than anything, he wished he could have been with them, he never would have let either die. Neither Itama nor Kawarama had stood a chance living in a world like this, where adults murdered the children of their enemies.

The passage of time since their deaths hadn't eased the burning guilt or the shock of losing them. If anything, it had made it worse. With every passing day, as he and Hashirama grew stronger, Tobirama could not help but imagine what would have happened if he had been there to save them; what his brothers would be like now and how strong they'd be too. They could have had a good life and been good men - he would have sacrificed his own in a heartbeat to make that happen.

After all these years, it still scared him, that one day they'd been laughing by his and Hashirama's side and now they were gone forever. The thing that frightened him the most; was that he could barely remember their faces. He'd sit for hours trying to recall their smiling dark eyes, how their messy hair had stuck up, untameable, and their wide grins. But the only image he could sustain in his mind's eye was that of their twisted mangled bodies, cast aside carelessly by their murderers.

With his father gone as well, all he had left was Hashirama. Hashirama, the strongest of his clan, who had vowed to change this world and stop the wars. Tobirama would never fail his eldest brother as he had done Itama and Kawarama – he'd protect him and that dream of his.

Sakura shivered next to him, rolling away from him; onto her bad side. The exhausted shinobi sighed and pulled her by her shoulder back onto her back. He'd have to protect her as well, she may well come in useful for achieving Hashirama's dream. Though looking after her had become quite the task. Tobirama wondered if she'd treat him to anymore light displays in her sleep. He certainly hoped she would, the wound on her side wasn't healing well.

She turned again, this time snuggling unconsciously against his shoulder. When he pushed her away she whimpered softly but complied. Tobirama shifted uncomfortably. Sleeping in his armour was not easy; he couldn't find a position where something wasn't digging into him. He groaned as Sakura rolled back over, seeking the heat of his body, squashing her face into his shoulder once more. Once again he returned her to her original position.

Eventually he managed to drift off but was frequently awoken whenever Sakura tried to nuzzle into his side. After the sixth time of being awoken he shoved her roughly away, her limp body practically bounced across the bedding. She gasped, still sleeping, in pain and he felt a little bad.

The seventh time it happened, he ground his teeth silently and closed his eyes again.

* * *

**Thank you for reading, favouriting, following and especially reviewing!**

**I know this chapter hasn't been the most exciting but I enjoy writing following Tobirama, he's pretty easy to follow. He mostly plans and does. Well and Sakura is also sleeping so she can't do much but dream at the moment...**

**Erm yes I can't wait to write Hashirama back into it or Madara for that matter. I think my plot has actually taken some shape in my head now - I just need to link it all up as I write. **

**So thank youzzze all. Oooh and I apologise if my Japanese references are off. I really need a book or something to help me out. Continuity has been a problem, I realised I had to find a fruit that was in season roughly when Cherry Blossom trees bloomed... it's a bit tenuous I have to say but I'm setting it in March or April and the fruit can just be bloody late!**

**Oh and good luck out there to my fellow little scientists. May the science-jargon not defeat you!**


	9. Chapter 9

Tobirama had no idea how long he'd slept for, there was certainly day light creeping under the sliding door. He groaned, his back was killing him. He really wanted to take off his damn armour. Sakura's face was still squashed up against his shoulder, which had become unpleasantly damp. He wasn't sure if this was caused by perspiration from the slight fever she still ran or drool – she was, after all, snoring rather loudly with her mouth open.

He carefully removed himself from the bed, allowing her head to loll limply as he extracted his shoulder. She whimpered quietly and then returned to snoring. Tobirama liberated himself from the strip of cloth that tied them together and stiffly moved over to the pile of supplies he'd salvaged. He drank deeply from a small bowl he'd filled the night before and thoughtfully munched on the tart flesh of one of the loquats. Stocking up the night before had been a good idea. The less they left this room, the less likely that their presence would be noticed – not that anyone would be sneaking around the abandoned Senju compound, Tobirama just preferred to be cautious.

Well, since the girl hadn't shown signs of awakening, he had time to pass. He sniffed, he wasn't exactly smelling pleasant – something he particularly despised. As it was day time and the risk of attack was low, he allowed himself to remove his armour. His less than fragrant shirt soon followed. Happily he sighed, rolling his tense shoulders in large slow circles and stretching his arms. Tobirama rationed himself a bowl sized amount of water to wash with – all he could really spare for the moment. He tore a rag from one of the more moth eaten blankets and set about washing.

The hairs on the back of his neck began to prickle. Tobirama could sense someone was watching him. He glanced around and made eye contact with a pair of hazy green eyes.

"Hey…" Sakura murmured sleepily.

Embarrassed, the young Senju quickly redressed; pulling his shirt and armour over his head. He fumbled with the shoulder straps on of his dou, his fingers feeling clumsy and meaty. Scooping up a bowl of water, he crossed the room to the girl, who lay serenely smiling up at him. She still looked sick; skin ashen and eyes dull but at least she was awake. Tobirama gently cupped the back of her head, fingers tangling in pink hair, propping her up slightly so she could drink. Sakura drank greedily, unattractively gulping. She finished the bowl without taking a breath and attempted a feeble grin when he raised an eyebrow.

"Thirsty…" Her voice rasped.

"I can see that."

Tobirama crossed the room, returning with a larger jug. He refilled the bowl once more and allowed her to drink. The next bowl he used to clean her face, ripping a clean strip from one of the better blankets. She closed her eyes contentedly, allowing him to dab her aching head.

"Thanks." She managed weakly.

"You need a proper wash. You stink." He informed her. Sakura blinked up at him. He looked away, face reddening – well, she hadn't been smelling wonderful recently. Especially not her side.

She made an odd coughing sound, apparently meant to be laughter. The corners of her eyes crinkled pleasantly.

"Yeah." She agreed simply. She glanced around, taking in his bare, simple room.

"Where…is this?" She tried.

"My old quarters."

Sakura didn't say anything to this, her voice weak from disuse, she just nodded. She allowed Tobirama to clean her, he ignored her winces as he scrubbed her sore skin roughly. He worked his way methodically; exposed parts first. He then moved onto her side, he rolled up her shirt, surreptitiously covering her bare breasts and crotch with a blanket. Carefully, he cleaned around the wound the best he could and the surrounding skin. Pulling her shirt back down, he stuck his hand down her shirt as he moved onto her torso and abdomen. He was too embarrassed to look at her naked chest after his behaviour of late, even though he knew it would have been for practical purposes. The young man firmly looked away, his hand swiping side to side as he struggled to clean her without looking.

"Change of heart? You being a prude now?" She croaked. He reddened, still resolutely staring at the wall.

"I don't know what you're talking about." He tried.

"You scared of looking now? You scared of a little bit of woman." She teased in her hoarse voice.

"I'm merely behaving as a man should in the presence of a woman he does not know."

"Oh, I'm sure."

He finished and extracted his hand gingerly, rinsing the cloth and refilling the bowl.

"Turn." He commanded.

With a little help from Tobirama and a deep groan she managed to rotate onto her belly, wheezing with the effort. She folded her arms and lay her head on them, gazing up at him with a wicked smirk. Tobirama ignored her and repeated the process.

"Thanks nurse." She grinned, when he had finished.

He grunted and stalked to the other side of the room. Hungry, he snatched up a few more loquats. Seating himself – like his namesake – in the space between two doors, he began to munch the fruit. One was definitely overripe; its juices dribbled down his chin when he bit into it. He attempted to wipe away the sticky liquid with his sleeve but his skin remained tacky. Glancing up, he was annoyed to find Sakura was still staring at him, smiling lopsidedly.

"What?"

"You've gone all shy."

He persisted with his stubborn silence. Tobirama noticed her voice was improving the more she spoke. He couldn't help hoping it would have gotten a bit worse before it got better, so she'd stop speaking to him like that. Her skin had a bit more colour to it now as well.

"What's the matter, you afraid of a little girl?"

He resisted rising to her mocking and bit into another fruit. This one was very tart, he sucked his teeth in displeasure but ate it none the less. The girl chortled happily from the nest of blankets.

"So what did you do to my hand anyway?" She inquired.

"You did it." He stated, not convinced by her question. He was interested now, what far-fetched tale would she be telling him today?

"I did it?!" She echoed, sounding surprised.

Sakura frowned, shutting her mouth finally. She chewed her plump bottom lip, clearly agonising over something in her head. Tobirama watched through narrowed eyes. He wanted to know her motives now. He was bored of waiting. But, he left her to think – pushing her would only aggravate their already strained relationship. In his experience, when one revealed a little bit of information letting their opponent know that the game was up, the opponent would spill their guts, trying to strike a deal for mercy. However, after a long period of waiting, it occurred to him that no answer would be forth-coming. The girl still looked as if she was turning over the statement in her head.

He'd have to try to being more direct. Tobirama was fed up now; he wanted to get back to his brother and clan and he'd had enough of her games.

"Look," he said frankly "I think it's about time you told me exactly who you are and what your purpose is."

* * *

His words bounced around her head.

"You did it."

"I did it?!"

Sakura couldn't quite process it all. She had done it? How had she done it?

Was it related to her dream?

She curled and uncurled her fingers as she thought. The pain in her hand had gone, replaced by an excruciating itch. She'd been surprised to awaken without the agonising company of the burn but she'd presumed Tobirama had been the one to do something about it. She had no idea how he'd done it. And, admittedly, she had been slightly baffled why he'd chosen to heal just her hand and nothing else: her side still throbbed agonisingly. Even if he had only had the means to heal one wound, surely he would have chosen the wound on her side – it was, after all, actually life threatening.

How could it have been her? How did it heal so fast anyway? A thousand questions reverberated through her mind, threatening to overwhelm her. Sakura tried to breathe slowly but found she could not. How on earth had she done it – what on earth was she? Some kind of witch?! A god?!

She tried to make sense of it all but struggled. All that she knew was that she'd dreamt she'd had the power to heal, using her "chakra" and she'd woken up with a healed hand. Perhaps it wasn't just a dream. The only problem with linking her dream and reality was; in her dreams she'd been healing someone else not herself. She'd been healing Naruto…

_"Naruto_" She inhaled deeply, the name warmed her heart – distracting her momentarily.

But how could a dream like that be real? Maybe it had been a memory? The concept struck her like lightning hitting a tree. If that was true, possibly chakra and her healing talent were real as well! And maybe, just maybe, Naruto was real…

She felt hope swelling in her chest; she might have a home, friends and family to get back to. Sakura liked the idea of not being alone. She nibbled her bottom lip as a perturbing thought occurred to her: Tobirama had also been in her dream and she'd thought he'd been someone called the Lord Second. His presence just didn't really fit. He definitely didn't know her from before the other night, he wasn't part of her memories. So why was he in her dream?

_"Well I suppose that could mean anything, it was just a dream after all._" She concluded, despite a nagging feeling tugging at the corner of her mind.

"Look, I think it's about time you told me exactly who you are and what your purpose is." Tobirama's monotone command hung heavily in the air; interrupting her racing thoughts.

"Huh?" She blinked, confused for a moment.

"Oh, well I don't know." She finally managed to answer weakly. She cringed. God she sounded stupid.

The answer didn't seem to impress the ever suspicious young man either. He remained where he sat, silent, but Sakura could feel the intensity of his eyes from across the room. She sighed, there wasn't exactly much she could tell him. If she reiterated the events of her dream to him, he'd probably think her mad. She only had questions herself. Sakura licked her lips nervously, he obviously wasn't going to tolerate her lack of memory for much longer. She decided to hedge around the subject a bit longer.

"Why don't you tell me, why you're looking after me?" Her voice came out in a much more confident tone than she had expected. It didn't seem to distract Tobirama from the matter at hand.

"I'm asking the questions. Why did you not heal yourself before?"

"I – er – didn't have enough erm time to?"

"There was plenty of time. Who taught you to use chakra that way?"

"I just can?" It was more of a question than a statement. He looked unconvinced.

"Do you know how rare your talents are?" He queried, eyes very serious.

Sakura jumped on the question, she had an unusual gift! Perhaps this is why he was keeping her. Maybe he needed someone with chakra for some reason. She'd have to play it cool, maybe she was one of only a few people who could do it. He might even be scared of her; that's probably why he'd been acting so strangely. Tobirama's attitude had obviously changed since she'd fallen asleep, he hadn't dared to look at her naked body earlier (despite being more than a little bold before) and he was sat clear across the room from her now.

"Look, can you use chakra?" She asked, attempting to keep her voice cocky, whilst secretly praying she didn't sound as idiotic as she felt. Tobirama's grey eye brows shot up incredulously.

"What kind of question is that?" He snapped. Tobirama, pulled himself to his feet and strode across the room, crouching inches from her head. He pointed a finger angrily at her. "Stop playing the fool."

_"Oh shit._" She cursed inwardly. She'd obviously gotten the wrong end of the stick. She was not off to a good start.

"I mean, erm, do you use chakra to heal?" She tried again, trying to make it seem her earlier question had merely been eluding to this. Her heart hammered in her chest, she couldn't afford to keep making mistakes. Sakura still didn't know what his intentions with her were but she really didn't want him to deem her useless – that, most definitely, would not be good.

Mahogany red eyes narrowed dangerously; his eyebrows and corners of his mouth sinking into a deep frown. He didn't answer her, she waited with baited breath, wondering if he'd finally had enough of her. The stormy expression on Tobirama's face seemed to ease and he settled back onto his haunches. His intelligent eyes stared intensely into hers.

"Sakura, what do you know about chakra?"

"I know I can hurt you with it." She challenged.

Ignoring her, Tobirama repeated his question. His tone was so low she could barely distinguish it from a rumbling growl.

"Sakura, what do you know about chakra?"

She hesitated, quite unsure what to say. Her lip was raw from her nervous chewing.

"I… I…"

Tobirama leant toward her, drawing a kunai. He snatched her arm from beneath her head and dug the point into her wrist.

"Tell me everything you know." He said passively, without batting an eye "Or I'll slit your wrists and watch you bleed out."

Panic rose like nausea in her throat. She tried to pull away from him but she still felt weak from the fever. Blood began to well in the small nick where blade met skin.

"Let me go!" She raged, still tugging with all her might. Tobirama only pressed the blade harder.

"Tell me the truth. What do you know about chakra? What is your purpose?"

The sharp point began to tear at her skin, he was really going to do it. Sakura could see he meant it from the hard look in his eye. But she couldn't tell him anything – he was going to kill her for sure. She noticed his discarded Happuri and clambered for it with her free hand. Her fingers managed to scrape it up and with desperation she hurled it at his face. He merely twitched his head aside and it uselessly clattered across the room.

_"What do I do? What do I do?"_

She tried to twist and kick him but an excruciating pain from her wound ripped up her nerves, nearly making her vomit. Tobirama dragged her arm above her head, forcing her to roll onto her back. Sakura tried to claw at his face but he captured her free arm and pinned it above her head with the right one.

He shifted his body, straddling her, red hot humiliation flared across her face in a scorching blush. He'd effectively trapped her so she couldn't move. Angrily she thrashed her legs, unable to bring them high enough to make contact with his back. Sakura glared through her pain and attempted to produce enough saliva to spit in his face but found her throat dry and parched.

"Tell me the truth Sakura. Just tell me the truth and I'll let you live."

The frightened girl blinked away angry tears. She had run out of options. She had no more excuses and no escape. Sakura didn't want to die here – she wanted to know if her dream had been real. If it had, she had to find Naruto; if he was still alive… She might have a life to go back to and she'd do anything to be able to live it.

"I don't know anything okay?! I can't tell you anything! I don't know what to say to make you believe me but I can't remember a thing!"

* * *

**Well that was annoying to write but have to get these chapters out the way before I can do anything else. Thanks for the reviews and follows and faves once again.**

**Hope Tobirama wasn't too OOC (he just hates waiting around) and please excuse Sakura she's not very well. And yes she will get stronger and yes she will recover ninjutsu but don't forget she's essentially been reset in a new body with amnesia. Hopefully procedural memory will kick in at some point but it's also going to be a case of training her new body up to standard. If it helps think of it as a chakra paralysis. Just because you know how to move doesn't mean you can.**

**I want Sakura to work her way up to pro medic again but I have realised that going back in time when they would have limited technology is going to mess that up a bit... I mean a lot of the stuff they talk about in Cannon is cells and DNA, not sure how to work it in without it seeming a bit not past time period appropriate. I suppose she'll have to pay a visit to Madara he seemed to know about those things wink wink**


	10. Chapter 10

Tobirama's pulse raced. Her lithe body writhed below him. The fire in her eyes burnt fiercely as tried to fight him but in the end he subdued her. Careful not to slit her wrist with his razor sharp knife, he asked her again to tell him the truth, promising to let her live if she did. Tobirama meant it as well; he didn't particularly want to hurt her – he'd only do it if she posed a risk to his clan. He felt bad, seeing raw terror flash across her face as she realised there was nothing she could do, but he needed to know and he needed to know now. They're games had gone on long enough.

Back in the Sakura trees he'd planned to coax the information a little more slowly from her but he hadn't accounted for losing time whilst she was unconscious or for her apparent medical abilities. Hashirama would be worried about him now, he'd spent far too long messing around with the girl. He needed answers and he needed to get back. Even if he had chosen to loiter another day without answers, he hadn't accounted for her incredible rudeness and ability to get under his skin – the very idea of her threatening him! Still, no matter how he justified it to himself, he couldn't stop the twinge of regret.

Sakura began to babble – denying she knew anything. Tobirama took his time to consider her words, scanning her face for any sign of deception. Her eyes screamed silently up at him, angry but reproachful. He considered her strange questions about chakra. Then analysed way she'd fought back as he restrained her: she'd been fearsome enough but clumsy, frightened - In his experience, an enemy who'd found out they'd been revealed would have had a few more tricks up their sleeve. Though, perhaps her lack of defence was because she was still weak from illness…

However, when Tobirama had threatened to let her die he'd seen true terror in her eyes. She hadn't wanted to die and she clearly didn't have a way to save herself. An enemy spy would have been prepared for death or had an answer to give him. Something inside him told him she was telling the truth. He'd reached his decision.

"I believe you."

"Get off me then!" She screeched, her voice breaking.

He didn't immediately get off her but relaxed his grip on her wrists and pocked his kunai. Her chest rose and fell rapidly, breasts heaving under the dark Uchiha shirt. She refused to meet his eye, staring stubbornly at the wall.

"But," He continued "If I find you've lied to me. I will kill you."

Sakura's nostrils flared and she scowled but she said nothing. He squeezed her wrists hard and a little grunt of pain escaped her lips. She finally looked up at him, opal eyes glazed and defeated. Sakura nodded, confirming that she understood.

"You're hurting me." She whispered.

Carefully, he extracted himself from his straddling position and released her wrists. He stalked across the room snatching up a rag and settling back against the wall. He avoided looking at her, he hoped she wouldn't cry. Tobirama didn't like ruling by intimidation but he'd use it when he had to. Meticulously he polished and cleaned the weapons in his pouch one by one.

"You're a fucking bastard." Sakura's low voice eventually swore darkly. "You could have just taken my word for it first time."

Tobirama glanced up at her, she was still lying on her back with her arms resting above her head. She stared coldly at the ceiling.

"Would you trust someone who claims to know nothing but can heal herself? We're in the middle of a war."

"I can see why people want to kill you." Came her bitter reply, un-swayed by his logical reasoning.

"People have wanted to kill me since I was born."

"Wow. Always been an arsehole then."

Tobirama hid his smile, he obviously wasn't going to earn her forgiveness with a sob story and he wasn't going to beg for it either. He just continued to clean his weapons, occasionally sneaking a look at the girl. Her eyes fluttered shut after a few minutes and he wondered if she was sleeping. Soon the metal he'd been polishing could not possibly gleam any more than it already did. The young man stood and stretched. Stepping a knee forward he pushed a single arm out in front of his torso, palm facing straight ahead; eyes closed. Peacefully, Tobirama moved through a series of exercises – half stretching, half practising the actions of combat in slow motion.

He inhaled and exhaled rhythmically, calmly. His body responded pleasantly to the routine, feeling free and loose after half an hour or so. Tobirama loved doing this. Like river watching, it was one of the only things that made him feel at peace – it cleared his head. For once his over analytical mind quietened and allowed him to enjoy himself.

He listened to the world around him as he moved around the room; turning, crouching and lunging – all at the pace of a snail. The walls of the compound creaked as wood expanded in the afternoon heat. Birds sang faintly in the forest a few hundred feet away. His feet thudded and scraped softly across the ground as he moved. Sakura's and his own breathing intermingled in one steady rhythm. Tobirama concentrated, making his moves bigger, holding them for longer. He tried to make his motions and breathing noiseless – all the while listening. When the routine was completed twice through, he glided into a standing position, feet together and back straight. One arm hung by his side, whilst the other he raised, two fingers extended. He exhaled deeply.

"Why did you do that?" Sakura's curious voice interrupted his wonderful calm

"Exercising."

"No, not that. I mean why did you do that finger thing?"

He cracked open an eye, flinching at the brightness of the room. The girl looked up at him in wide eyed curiosity. She lounged comfortably in the position he'd left her.

"It's traditional."

"What does it mean?" She queried, ignoring his attempts at evasiveness. He sighed, he had the horrible feeling if he didn't answer her she'd just keep questioning him.

"It's a sign of mutual respect offered between fighters." He informed her.

"Yeah, the air gave you a tough fight there." She grinned.

* * *

Tobirama huffed at her but Sakura didn't care. Since his little violent outburst earlier, he'd been true to his word – accepting what she'd said and leaving her unharmed. She suspected he was a lot softer than he liked to let on. However, this didn't mean she didn't want to get a bit of revenge on him. Sakura wasn't exactly in any shape to teach him a lesson but at least she could rib him a bit.

"Hey, maybe you can teach me your little dance later."

"It's not a dance." His tone impassive as ever, ignoring the mocking tone in her voice. Sakura smiled, he had said it a bit too quickly though…

Tobirama strode over to the eclectic collection of pots and jugs. He drank deeply from one, its poorly shaped rim dribbled water down his chin. She licked her lips.

"I'm pretty thirsty." She confessed. "And hungry…"

He muttered something darkly under his breath but brought a large bowl of water and a fruit over to her. His hand reached out to scoop her up but she batted it away weakly.

"No offence but if you think I'm well enough to become your pin cushion, I'm probably well enough to feed and water myself."

He grunted and lay the food and water next to her before stalking back to the earthen ware. Sakura managed to roll onto her right side, which took more than a little effort. Her arms shook as she lifted the bowl to her face. She cursed the idiotic Senju for using up the little energy she had in their little scuffle. Most of the water missed her mouth as she drank, splashing on the floor and trickling down her neck uncomfortably.

Sakura ignored the rising blush, she wouldn't let herself feel embarrassed even if it was undignified. Next she reached for the soft yellow loquat. The fruit was hard to eat when her hands were trembling from the effort of keeping them elevated. Frustrated, she smashed the fruit in her mouth, ignoring the pulpy mess that stuck to her chin. She spat the seed toward Tobirama, enjoying the disgusted look he gave her. When she was done, she wiped her sleeve in the puddle of water she'd created and attempted to clean her face with it.

The pain in her side throbbed steadily. She was beginning to become irritated with it. She wanted to move around, to do something. Watching Tobirama move gracefully around the room pulled at something inside her. She'd been jealous, observing the calm spread over his angular features, the stretch of his muscles.

"My side hurts." Sakura grumbled. She was met with the customary silence. "Can't you heal me?"

"I cannot."

"Why not?"

"I do not have that ability."

"Well tell me how to do it."

"I cannot."

"Why not?"

Much to her frustration, Tobirama didn't answer. He was sat cross legged, back to her, facing the pots. Sakura threw the loquat she hadn't eaten at him. She grinned, sure he couldn't possibly see it coming but much to her chagrin he ducked his head and the projectile bounced away harmlessly. She pouted sulkily.

"What are you even doing over there?"

She could see his wrist flicking gently in the air. Sakura heard small splashes and craned her neck curiously to see what he was up to. Annoyingly, his broad back obscured her view from his secretive activities.

"What are you doing?" She repeated.

Tobirama turned, and raised an eyebrow at her but obliged her curiosity, shuffling around slightly to allow her to see.

"…Wow…" Sakura managed finally.

Globes of water hung in the air, suspended as if they were in an invisible container. Their surfaces rippled like ghostly hands were moulding them. She watched as Tobirama twisted his hand to the right and the globes dutifully followed, sailing through the air like little aqueous planets. Light refracted shimmering rainbows around the room.

The young man closed his fingers, whilst bringing his thumb above his palm, as if he were lightly holding something thin and flat. The spheres responded to this, spinning then flattening into discs. For a while his hand glided side to side, the discs mirroring his movements. Tobirama seemed to grow bored of his game. Maintaining the strange pose of his hand, he twitched his forefinger, indicating toward the pots by his knees. One by one, the discs floated dreamily into the pottery hitting the bottom with a little splash.

Sakura released the breath she didn't know she'd been holding.

"That was beautiful." She complimented him quietly.

The corner of his mouth twitched upwards into a gentle smile, which was gone again in an instant. Sakura's own face broke out into a sunny beam - it was the first time Sakura had ever seen Tobirama smile. His features had softened with it making him look much younger than he usually did.

"Will you teach me?" She asked inquisitively.

If he was surprised by her boldness, he didn't show it. He just cocked his head to one side, considering her request.

"You probably won't be able to do it." He told her dismissively.

"How do you know?" Sakura snapped. Tobirama shouldn't underestimate her.

His eyebrow arched again – she was beginning to get fed up of his perpetually expressive eyebrows – and shook his head, smirking knowingly.

"It's quite advanced."

Sakura made an annoyed clicking noise with her tongue and glared at him.

"I want to try. I bet I can do it." She told him stubbornly, bottom lip protruding outward moodily. He rolled his eyes but bought a pot of water over to her.

He placed it by her face and looked at her expectantly.

"Erm, what do I do?" She eventually asked, after it became evident he wasn't going to just start explaining.

"Concentrate. Start with your breathing. You may close your eyes if you like."

"Concentrate on what?"

"On emptying your mind," He informed her as if it were perfectly obvious. Seeing her confusion he rubbed the back of his head exasperated. "As if you were meditating."

Sakura closed her eyes and concentrated on her breathing. She tried to cram her buzzing thoughts into the corners of her mind but found it near impossible. When she was satisfied with the rhythm and depth of her inhalation and exhalation she opened her eyes once more; a clear head could wait until further instructions were given.

"Now what?"

"Now concentrate your chakra to your hand and try and move it into the water."

"Erm… I don't know how to do that. I don't know how to make chakra work." She confessed, her face blushing a deep scarlet.

Instead of chiding her or asking if she was joking, he proffered a hand to her. She looked at him suspiciously and he gestured impatiently for her own. Sakura tentatively extended her fingers, which he took gently and he held in his large hands with the utmost of care.

"Close your eyes."

The girl complied, dubiously.

"Now breathe again."

_"In… Out…_" Sakura enthused to herself.

"Oh! Oh!" She squeaked as she felt a glorious warmth spread into her fingers, where Tobirama touched her. She opened her eyes and gazed up at him. His own burgundy eyes stared down at her patiently.

"Close your eyes again." He commanded. "Now you know what my chakra feels like. Next, I want you to imagine where our hands are touching is the exit point for your own chakra. I want you to bring your chakra out to meet mine."

She nodded, though she wasn't really sure how he expected her to do this.

"First, I want you to feel the shape of your body as you meditate. Picturing it will help."

Sakura concentrated, trying to envisage the shape of a body in her mind's eye. It was a lot harder than she had thought it would be without using her sense of touch or sight to orientate in her mind as to where her limbs actually were in reality.

"As you breathe in, feel your lungs swell." Tobirama advised her, sensing her frustration "Don't just let your chest expand, inhale until you feel it in your abdomen."

"Good," He said after a moment of watching her rising torso "Now feel the weight of your ribcage press your spine to the floor as you exhale. As this happens you will feel your shoulders relax, they should become heavier but wider."

Sakura was sceptical that she would feel any of this but Tobirama's tone was commanding and certain. She decided to humour him and try, the sensation took Sakura a while to achieve but she did eventually manage to do it.

"Feel the ground under your free hand, feel my hand in your other. Let the weight of your elbows sink into the floor. Your fingers are like weights."

Sakura's arms felt freer, more floppy in a way. Her digits and wrists felt heavy and drooped irresistibly under the weight of gravity.

"Now feel the heaviness of your pelvis, then follow the length of your legs in your mind. Feel their weightiness, let them press against the floor where your body touches the ground. Use the blankets beneath your heal; press down against them. Follow the line of your foot. Can you feel the air on your soles?"

He paused briefly in his slow hypnotic instructions until she nodded.

"Good… Now your toes, if you can't feel them right away you may wiggle them until you understand how they work with the rest of your foot. Keep breathing."

His voice was hypnotic and calm. The girl tried her hardest to take in what he said, to allow her steady breaths to outline the shape of her body in her mind.

"Good Sakura," He praised her "Next your head. Do you feel how the heaviness of your head bends your neck slightly? When you've felt that, follow the curve of your neck to where it meets your skull. Use the spot where your skull meets the floor as your anchor point. Start to try and feel the shape of your head, the position of your features; your ears, your eyes, your nose and your mouth…"

Sakura found she could feel the parts of her body with greater clarity than before - she felt aware, awake but also calm.

"Bring all these sensations together and hold the dimensions of your body in your mind."

The warmth between their hands increased distractingly.

"Now, as you inhale imagine that you're pulling the warmth from my hand along your fingers. Draw the warmth further into your body, into your hand and up your arm toward your heart. And when you exhale, I want you to imagine pushing warmth from your chest toward me, along your arm and out your fingers. Keep doing this until they meet and then use your own warmth to push mine away."

Sakura found it easier to pull the imaginary warmth down her arm at first. The task of pushing warmth with her exhale was much trickier. Whenever she made any progress it felt as if the sensation lapsed back toward her torso, like tide lapping at sand. She persisted patiently, despite her frustration at the strange task. The process was almost cathartic in a way. Eventually she gasped, the spectral warmth from her hand and her chest had finally converged at her elbow – it felt so real, as if something was really moving below the surface of her skin. She continued her meditation, pushing back against the warmth of the inhale until she felt the warmth of her exhale push up to the tips of her fingers.

A sharp pain like a static shock made her snatch her fingers away from Tobirama. She rubbed her hand defensively and looked up at him accusingly.

"It was meant to happen." He shrugged. He held his hand above the bowl of water, eyes still trained on her face thoughtfully. The transparent liquid rose into the air like a bubble. "That exercise took you too long to do. You won't be doing this any time soon."

"You haven't even let me have a go! You've only told me to lie here and think about being warm!"

"You can't even summon up chakra yet. You can't do anything until you perfect the exercise first." He responded, sounding exasperated.

Sakura was deeply annoyed, she didn't even understand what the point of it all had been. As if Tobirama understood her frustration he sighed and began to explain.

"Look, that warmth, that's the feeling of drawing chakra. It's something you should be able to do instantaneously. Most children can do it by the time their four."

"But, if I've already used chakra – to _apparently_ heal my hand – why can't I just use it now?"

"I don't know," He answered truthfully "I can't sense anything wrong with you but I'm not a medic. I think it's something psychological."

"Are you saying I'm messed up in the head?" Sakura growled dangerously.

"Possibly. The connection between your mind and chakra seems to be severed. Your chakra is there, but you have to be able to feel it, to extract it."

"Well how do I reconnect it?" She replied, ignoring Tobirama's lack of tact.

"Practice. Training." He informed her, then added "Though, it will probably take you months at your learning rate."

The ball of water rippled and warped. A serpentine head of a tiny water dragon began to emerge from the undulating surface. Sakura watched transfixed as the miniature dragon twisted in the air around Tobirama's hand. Its glistening body snaked down his arm before seamlessly splitting into needle like fragments and reforming into a spherical blob.

The young man jumped as her hand shot out toward him.

"Let's keep practicing." She commanded.

* * *

**So yeah I decided it's probably the for the best to ease her into learning at first, once she can get back up to speed she'll be relearning her old skills in no time. Also I have realised I have made a grave mistake about her seal in the first chapter! But have no fears I shall fit in a neat little plot twist to sort it all out :) - and I'm actually pleased with the solution because it conveniently came to me as I was reading papers for my dissertation, oh the joys of working yet procrastinating simultaneously. **

**You have no idea how long I lay on the floor trying to work out how I'd extract chakra if I had any... I know this chapter is fillery but Tubs needs a chance to make up his rudeness to Sakura.**

**I'm ecstatic with all the lovely reviews, they really motivate me to keep going so thank you all very much. And it's so nice to know people like the story enough to follow and fave. Yay :) But guys... seriously, I have to say my work work is suffering... I just want to write this instead.**

**Glad everyone is enjoying the Tobirama Sakura pairing, I actually chose it because I just like both their individual characters. Also whilst there's obviously no chance for this to happen in the actual manga or anime I thought it'd be a good opportunity to write something without it being ruined by the ending of Naruto or the new film (because this story is obviously very extra fictional... actually if Sakura ends up dying then it screws it up for me a bit but there will always be plot holes to work with!) and it doesn't mean the characters have to change too much to make the relationship work (because we never see how these two actually interact).**


	11. Chapter 11

"You should probably eat." Tobirama admonished Sakura.

She'd been practising for hours, using his chakra as a guide to find her own. Slowly, Tobirama had been reducing the amount of chakra he'd been using to teach her, so she'd learn to do it without him. Whilst she had managed to improve the speed at which she could find and summon her chakra, the amount was still very small. The girl's reserves seemed to running fairly low. Though he conceded, she was after all, nursing a nasty looking wound and recovering from illness. Before she could improve her chakra skills, what the girl really needed was rest… and a lot of physical training when she was back to full health.

"In a bit." She grunted, eyes screwed shut and concentrating. Her slender fingers firmly closed around his. Tobirama resisted the urge to wince as she crushed his hand in her eagerness to continue her training.

"Fine. One more time."

Her forehead wrinkled as she focused, drawing in a deep breath. Tobirama felt a little of the chakra he'd lent her seep away into Sakura's arm. As soon as she exhaled he was pleased to feel her chakra surge against his fingers creating the tiny shock like sensation as their two chakras met awkwardly. She beamed up at him her face pleasantly flushed with pride.

"Good. You're done for today." He told her.

Sakura pouted childishly at him but he could tell she was getting tired. Her hands were beginning to shake, trembling like an old lady. He gave her a look, hoping she'd accept the progress she'd made and let him continue with his day without a fuss.

"You're done. Let's eat." He said more firmly, extracting his fingers from hers and moving over to the packs. He rummaged through his neatly organised belongings, looking for some food. The dried beef he pulled out was the last of the rations that he'd packed before his unexpectedly extended trip. He tore the cured meat in half and popped a bit in his mouth, chewing appreciatively.

"Here, special treat."

He chucked her a salty hunk which she reached out for but missed. It hit her on the forehead and bounced just out of her reach. Tobirama was glad he was the master of stoicism when she shot him an incredibly furious glare.

_"If looks could kill…"_ He inwardly sniggered as he struggled to keep his face under control. She was frowning so deeply that her eyebrows nearly met in the middle and her eyes had narrowed to little cat-like slits.

"You did that deliberately." Sakura muttered darkly.

"It was your own fault."

"My fault?! _My fault?!_" Her voice rose, becoming notably shriller.

"Even a child could have caught that. My aim is always perfect."

Sakura grabbed the damp cloth he'd washed her with earlier and attempted to launch it at him. Tobirama didn't even need to dodge this time, it sailed about a foot from her hand and then fell to the floor with a sad little splat. He diplomatically turned his face from her and dug through his bag again to hide his unavoidable smirk. She made a shrieking sound and continued to launch sadly ill-fated soft projectiles in his direction.

When Tobirama was done searching through the pack, he casually stepped over the growing pile of cloth and blankets and made his way back over to her, picking up the meat she hadn't caught. He stooped, offering her the morsel which she snatched angrily from his hand. The girl tore into it with a ravenous ferocity, all the while glowering at him with her pretty green eyes.

"Most ladies would cover their mouth when eating in a man's company." He couldn't resist goading her.

Her glare deepened then her eyes narrowed wickedly. She began to chew, mouth open, making loud chomping noises - much to his disgust.

"You're an animal." He told her. Sakura just smiled smugly through her mouthfuls.

He turned his back on her and began to clean the mess she'd created in her attempts to get back at him. Gathering the blankets in his arms, he wordlessly returned to the make-shift futon and rolled Sakura out of it onto her good side. He ignored her indignant squawk and he remade the bed, smoothing the blankets nice and flat. When he was done, he pushed her back in and went to inspect the state of their water and food supply.

Most of the water was already gone – thanks to Sakura's unquenchable thirst. The food was running low as well; loquats weren't exactly filling and they'd eaten more than he'd anticipated. Tobirama sighed, rubbing the back of his head thoughtfully. He was definitely going to have to go back outside and stock up tonight. He'd only wanted to make a five minute trip but it was going to take him much longer now. He'd have to find some more substantial food like fish or some root vegetables. The boy was pretty ravenous, his stomach was beginning to grumble quietly; unsatisfied with the small meaty appeasement he'd offered it.

Thankfully, the majority of the day had already passed and there was less than an hour of light left. Under the cover of darkness, he would be able to restock and have a scout around the compound. Tobirama was actually quite impressed they'd actually managed to stay hidden away in the room for so long without an attempted escape (not that Sakura was in any shape to) or some kind of attack - it had, all in all, been a rather luxuriously relaxing day for him. Truth be told, the thing that impressed him the most was Sakura's apparent bladder of steel – she'd gulped down at least two jugs of water. He himself was beginning to feel the call of nature.

_"Oh gods. How on earth am I going to deal with that?"_ He blanched, suddenly contemplating having to take Sakura to the outhouse.

* * *

Sakura had had an interesting evening.

After remaking the bed and checking their supplies, Tobirama had gone a peculiar pale colour and ceased speaking to her. She hadn't really minded, it gave her the opportunity to try and practice summoning her chakra without his guidance. For a while her efforts went unrewarded and she'd felt stupid huffing and puffing on the floor but she continued practising none the less.

The sun had set and Tobirama had disappeared outside, after disarming and rearming several lethal looking traps, before she found her chakra again. It was easier now, to draw it up her arm without Tobirama's chakra pushing back but once it reached her fingertips the sensation would dissipate without a trace. Several times she attempted to hold the sensation but grew steadily wearier. Her head throbbed and her eyes felt heavy but Sakura was determined to keep experimenting.

After a little theorising, Sakura decided the chakra must be escaping through her skin and switched to visualising it congregating just under the pads of her fingers. She found this technique was much more effective. She could feel a slight pressure-like sensation building under her skin and subsequently, the rate at which she fatigued slowed a little. Based on how tired she already felt, Sakura deduced that using too much would probably leave her incapacitated – she'd have to be careful not to use up all her energy at once.

Next, she tried gathering chakra to different areas of her body; from the tips of her toes to her stomach. Though the latter only caused her belly to ache slightly. She squirmed as different parts of her body warmed rapidly as the power congregated; the feeling was akin to coming into a heated room from the chill of a winter's day. Eventually she progressed, managing to hold the chakra just under the surface of her skin without it escaping from any part of her body – even her nose. Sakura was even more delighted to find, that if she concentrated enough, she could release a bit from her body but draw it back in as she inhaled; as if the chakra were entering and exiting in a circular motion.

Tobirama's earlier comments that chakra use should be instantaneous bothered her. She might have been getting better at localising it but her ability to summon chakra to different parts of her body, couldn't exactly be called instantaneous. If that was to be achieved she'd have to be able to do it without the deep breathing exercises or closing her eyes for concentration. Cautiously, Sakura tried gathering some chakra to her toe with her eyes opened, she was pleased to discover it was relatively simple.

Summoning it up without the meditative breathing proved to be the tricky part. She could move a little chakra through her body with regular breaths but found it didn't reach nearly as far nor could she sustain it for as long in one place before it dissipated. Patiently she persevered on, practising until she was satisfied she could do it just as well without the breathing exercises. A huge grin spread across her face – she was good at this, it was like her body was finally remembering what ever it'd been doing before she'd lost her memory.

Sakura figured she'd eventually have to do this all moving about. Unfortunately, being a bit immobile currently, she would have to come up with a temporary strategy. So she began with tapping her fingers on the cool wooden floor as she gathered her chakra to them – it wasn't much but at least it was a start. She wondered what would happen if she pushed chakra from her fingers as they hit the floor, she imagined it would make a rather satisfying sound. Curiously, she increased the amount she allowed to gather in her finger tips and as her index finger descended toward the wood she pushed the chakra out. Faster than she could comprehend, her hand was flung back, smacking her hard in the face. Sakura groaned loudly, rubbing her sore nose and cheek.

_"Ow…_"

Despite her bruised ego and face, Sakura found this incredibly intriguing… this was something she could play with. She cautiously repeated her experiment, her other arm raised to protect her face from further self-attack. Sakura chortled as she studied her little trick, changing the amount of chakra and the timing of its release. Whilst the amount of chakra she used, predictably controlled the amount of bounce back she'd get; playing with the timing proved to be more interesting. If she released the chakra at the beginning of her finger's descent it'd change the trajectory of her falling finger, making it glance off to the side before hitting the wood. When she released it just before her finger hit the floor, it'd bounce back like the first time. If she released her chakra as it hit the floor it would hit with a loud impact – making the satisfying sound she'd originally been looking for.

She began to vary the amount of chakra she was releasing once more. She found if she sustained the chakra being released – if she did it early enough - would result in her finger hovering above the ground. Much like two magnets resisting each other. No matter how hard she pushed, she couldn't get her finger to meet the floor. This was fascinating... Sakura attempted to put as much weight as possible on the finger; it just skidded to the side making her fall flat on her face.

It didn't take long for her to find this entertainment a bit more painful than it was fun. So she moved onto her next investigation. With her finger touching the floor, she tried using the pushing-pulling chakra technique she'd been playing with earlier. The chakra surged in and out of her finger simultaneously and she was thrilled to discover that her finger stuck to the wood. Sakura tugged on it with her other hand but it wouldn't budge from its spot.

_"Wonderful"_ She grinned to herself. Oh she was going to have hours of fun annoying Tobirama with these new found abilities.

Predictably when she attempted this cyclic chakra technique from further away, her finger was pulled to the floor as if it had been sucked up. Excitedly, she tried to use the technique with her hand over something more movable. The blanket she selected, disappointingly, wasn't sucked into her grasp until it was less than a centimetre away. It seemed this ability wasn't going to make her a master thief but it might be good for increasingly her grip on things. Sakura wondered if this was how Tobirama had walked up the tree trunk. Theoretically, if he'd gathered the chakra to his feet in this manner, he could have stuck himself to the tree with the same technique she was using now. She couldn't wait to try it out for herself.

Since her thoughts had turned to the boy, she began to wonder where he'd actually disappeared to. He'd been gone for quite a while. Sakura returned to drumming her fingers impatiently on the floor. She kind of wanted to show off her newly found amusements to him. Or at least use them to irritate him. Next time she launched something at him, she was going to give it a little chakra push and see if it met its mark. She couldn't imagine anything more satisfying than hitting him in his smug face with a smelly damp wash cloth. She grinned widely at the thought.

There were also a thousand questions she wanted to ask him, she simply had to know _everything_ about chakra and how to use it – she'd be making little dragons in no time. Maybe she should ask the questions before she attacked him with wash cloths…

An irresistible urge to practise again overcame her. Tobirama didn't seem the type to share information easily. He appreciated hard work, she could tell from her efforts earlier – he'd softened up to her in no time. He'd probably be more inclined to share a few more secrets if she impressed him.

This time she worked on releasing chakra at the precise second her finger touched the ground. She was sure it'd be wonderfully satisfying – it might create a bang loud enough to scare Tobirama when finally reappeared. She concentrated, deciding to give it her all with a nice big surge of chakra. She allowed her finger to tap the cool, hard ground a few times, as she settled into a predictable rhythm.

_"Now._"

A loud crack ripped through the air and she stared with astonishment at her finger.

It was stuck firmly in a small hole in the wooden floor, surrounded by a shallow bowl sized crater. Thousands of tiny hair line fissures snaked away from the hole, reaching further across the ground than her eyes could follow.

"Oh shit…"

Tobirama was going to be less than pleased when he saw what she'd done to his room.

* * *

The night sky was clouded over and the world was very dark. Tobirama had achieved what he'd set out to do, gathering all the food and water they'd need for the next day and completing the construction of his "facilities helper". All in all, he was rather proud of what he'd created, a job well done. Now he wouldn't have to face the hugely embarrassing task of accompanying Sakura to the most private of spaces.

He collected the supplies he'd gathered from outside the outhouse and made his way back to the head family's area of the compound. He winced as he heard a bang from within but didn't bother hurrying his pace. Tobirama hadn't sensed anyone nearing the compound. Anyway, there was no way anyone was getting in that building alive with the traps he'd left and even Sakura wasn't stupid enough to try and get out without him. She must have dropped something or perhaps she was attempting to refine her long distance attacks in preparation for his return.

The air was thick and heavy, Tobirama could taste the moisture. It was definitely going to rain tonight. He'd have to collect Sakura take her to the outhouse and have her back inside in the next ten minutes if he wanted to avoid getting wet.

Hurriedly, his deft fingers disarmed the traps at the sliding doors. When he finally made it into the room he found Sakura in a tangle of blankets, looking notably sheepish. The futon had been dragged a few meters to the side, its edges no longer straight and neat as he had left them. He strode past her, placing the supplies with the rest of their things and turned back to investigate the cause of her apprehension.

"What have you done?"

Her guilty look became positively condemning. Cheeks reddening, she looked at the wall and muttered.

"What was that?" He asked "I didn't catch what you said."

"Nothing." She said stubbornly.

His eyes swept around the room, looking for the broken object that no doubt was the source of the noise he'd heard earlier and her hangdog expression. It didn't take Tobirama long to notice the thin spider web cracks that spread across the floor, emanating from under the futon.

"What did you do to the floor?"

"It was like that already." She replied quickly.

"No it wasn't."

"Yes it was."

"No it wasn't." He repeated firmly.

Before she could argue he grabbed the end of the blankets she lay on and tugged them across the floor, dragging her with them. A large dent in the wood was revealed, circling a small hole. He raised an eyebrow at her inquisitorially.

"What did that?"

"Umm…"

"Sakura." He murmured warningly.

"My finger…" She finally confessed guiltily, holding up the offending digit. Tobirama studied her closely, he couldn't help feeling she looked a little smug despite her remorseful facade. He turned his attention back to the hole and crater; he didn't quite know what to say. She must have been messing around with chakra, dropping things did not dent solid floors like that. It was quite impressive really, to be able to release chakra from her finger with such force and probably good timing too… though, it was more likely, it was very a fluky accident rather than skill of any sort.

"Well try not to do it again."

She seemed a little disappointed by his reply but a bit relieved also. She'd probably been expected a telling off.

"Don't you want to know how I did it?" She asked tentatively, staring up at him through heavy lashes.

"With chakra?"

"Yeah…" She hung her head, obviously dissatisfied that he'd known, before cheering up suddenly and chirping "Pretty good right?"

"There's a hole in the floor." He pointed out sedately.

"Well, yeah… Sorry Tobirama."

She looked so ridiculously crest fallen that he couldn't resist ruffling her hair gently. Round green eyes looked up at him in surprise, quickly followed by a shy smile. He paused for a moment almost tempted to smile back but warmth was beginning to heat his face so he stepped back hurriedly.

"Come on," He stooped, sliding his arms under her knees and round her back "I've prepared the facilities for you."

"You've what…?" She asked sounding bewildered but turning scarlet as she caught his meaning.

He stayed mutely silent, his own face ablaze with embarrassment, as he carried her to the outhouse. Once there, he deposited her on the floor and handed her the rope contraption he'd constructed.

"This is… erm…" Tobirama was rarely lost for words but this was one of those unfortunate moments "This is erm… for you… so I don't… for privacy…"

Sakura stared dumbstruck at him whilst he pathetically attempted to explain. Finally she succeeded in forming a sentence – much more eloquently than he had managed, he noted.

"Thank you…?" It was more of a question than anything "It was very considerate of you to think of me…?"

He nodded brusquely and shot out of the outhouse as if he'd been scalded. He loitered at a respectable distance, scrubbing the dirt with his foot.

Tobirama froze as he felt the flare of chakra heading his way fast. Crouching, he moved to the cover of the trees, preparing for attack. It took him a second to recognise the familiar signature, he relaxed, straightening and leaning casually against the rough bark of a nearby tree.

Unsubtly, his visitor barrelled into the clearing, leaves flying as he crashed through the canopy of the trees.

"Tobirama!" The man bellowed as he spotted the young man. The newcomer rushed forward and enveloped him in a bear hug.

Tobirama squirmed, trying to free himself from the un-manly embrace.

"Alright, that's enough!" He snapped, slithering from the older man's strong arms like a cat who'd been picked up without permission.

"Where have you been? I've been worried sick!"

"Here." Tobirama replied aloofly.

"But why?" The new comer whined loudly, drawing out the last word childishly.

Tobirama crossed his arms and scowled. He obviously owed an explanation, tardiness was inexcusable. However, revealing that he'd found the girls too early might give the man too much hope. Whilst he had found a medic of sorts, a good enough reason to stay away for so long, she wasn't exactly in working shape. He winced as a bang and crash emanated from the outhouse.

"Tobirama?!" Sakura's voice squeaked from within the small building "Who's out there?"

_"So much for keeping her a secret._"

He cringed and glanced up at the older man. His embarrassment doubled when he saw a sly grin spread across the tanned face. Dark eyebrows wiggled suggestively.

"Oh Tobirama you dog, having me worried all this time and you're out here having fun with a lady…"

Tobirama cut him off with a swift kunai to the head.

The body fell to the floor, hitting with a loud thud as it turned to wood.

* * *

**Sorry for the long wait for the update. Ahhh the final chapter of Naruto was everything a shameless fangirl like me could have wanted. Sigh :) Still sad though!**

**Well I'd like to thank you all for reading, reviewing and following.**

**Special thanks for the encouragement and advice from a fellow lover of couples with pink and black hair and to the person who loves wartime flowers for finding my nicknames funny. **

**Also TOM if you're reading this, I told you not to but I know you probably will because you're nosy. So stop reading and make me a toasty. **


	12. Chapter 12

Sakura shivered, wrapping a scraggly blanket around herself. The shirt she wore was soaked through and her bare legs were as cold as ice. She curled into a small ball, rubbing her goose bumped legs furiously, trying to warm them up. Tobirama was stooped by the hori-gotatsu attempting to light the charcoal in the pit, the match refusing to spark into life in his slick wet hands. His hair was plastered to his face, dripping softly on the floor.

"So who was out there with you?" Sakura finally managed to work up the courage to ask.

She'd not spoken to him since he'd extracted her from the tangle of ropes she'd managed to get caught in. It had been really very nice of him to try and make using the bathroom easier for her (and to think of her privacy), it was a shame he hadn't accounted for her innate clumsiness and propensity for embarrassing disaster. By the time he'd freed her from the rope web, torrents of rain were flooding down from the angry skies above. They'd gotten rather "damp" on their return journey back to his quarters.

"My brother."

"You have a brother?" She asked automatically, cursing herself after it slipped out her mouth – such a redundant question.

"Mm." He replied unhelpfully – obviously paying little head to her query.

"Where is he now?"

Tobirama paused as the charcoal finally lit, appreciatively holding his hands close to the heat for a moment, slowly rubbing them together. He straightened and threw a large cover over the structure and set about arranging two neat piles of blankets of either side. He then moved back over to her, long legs striding across the room with his feline grace.

"I… sent him home." He said finally, rubbing his head and frowning at some private thought.

"Oh."

Sakura didn't pry. Tobirama wasn't the sharing type really and she supposed since she had nothing to tell him, he wasn't exactly obliged to fill her in on his own personal life.

"Would you like me to move you closer to the heat?" Tobirama asked her politely. Sakura was slightly taken aback that he'd asked, she'd grown used to him hauling her about without permission. She nodded shyly, grateful for his thoughtfulness.

He relocated her to the hori-gotatsu and lay her carefully near the edge of the pit, he started to tuck the blanket over her. His large hands were gentle and tentative as he ensured she was comfortable. When his fingers accidently prodded her sodden shirt he recoiled slightly, scowling.

"You should probably change. You'll get ill in that _thing_." He spat the last word distastefully. She defensively fingered the shirt she'd been given. Sakura had actually grown quite fond of it, despite its original owner exuding such malice after he'd given it to her.

"If I take it off, you're not going to throw my shirt away are you?" She suspiciously asked.

He ignored her question and gave her a handful of berries from a small pot that he'd filled on his earlier excursion. She crammed them all into her mouth at once, munching happily despite his scandalized tutting.

"You can wear my spare one." Tobirama informed her authoritatively. Sakura chose to take his order as a nice gesture, too cold and wet to chide him about his arrogant attitude.

"That'd be nice, thank you."

After rummaging in his pack, he pulled a large dark green top out and proffered it to her. She took the warm thick material gratefully and began to pull the Uchiha's damp shirt off. Sakura paused as she noticed Tobirama freeze awkwardly in her peripheral vision. She waited patiently for him to recover and turn away jerkily, kindly electing not to comment on his scarlet face.

_"One minute you're stripping me and the next you're a blushing maid_." She shook her head exasperated by his odd behaviour.

Peeling off the Uchiha shirt and pulling on Tobirama's warm one, Sakura sighed happily. She snuggled into the scratchy fabric, which hung awkwardly on her small frame. The sleeves dangled comically, making her look like a child playing dress up. She flapped arm experimentally like a baby bird trying to take off and giggled to herself.

"I'm decent." She informed him.

Tobirama turned back around and regarded her flapping arm apathetically. He dodged her flailing limb and cautiously picked up her sodden discarded garment, regarding it with distinct suspicion. He held it away from his body, at arms' length as if it carried some terrible disease.

"Don't you dare throw that away." She warned him, shaking her finger accusingly at him through the floppy sleeve.

"But you can have my shirt." Tobirama reasoned stubbornly.

"You'll want this one back eventually. And even if you let me keep it, I'll need more than one shirt. That'll be fine when it dries out."

He glowered at the offending item but compliantly strung it up with his ninja wire to dry in the farthest corner of the room.

"It's not diseased you know." Sakura sniggered.

He muttered something darkly under his breath and shuffled back over to her. Tucking his legs under the blanket he sat himself down on the opposite side of the table to her. She watched him politely nibble on a few berries of his own.

"Aren't you going to get changed?" She asked.

"I don't have anything else dry."

"Well take this back, I'll be fine wrapped in a blanket. You can't stay in those wet clothes."

Sakura was sure she could see a pink tinge creep onto his pale cheeks. Tobirama mulishly stared at floor, dripping slightly.

"That would be inappropriate."

"Oh come on," She rolled her eyes, this man and his double standards… "I'll be covered up, it'll probably cover more of me than your shirt does."

"I'm not even cold." He told her obstinately.

She looked at him scathingly but his face was set with idiotic determination.

"Well take your clothes off at least."

"I beg your pardon?"

"You'll freeze in those, take them off and wear the blanket until you dry."

He remained where he was, scowling at anything but her. His hands played with the edges of the blanket nervously.

"Come on Tobi, you'll get ill."

"You will address me as Tobirama. And I'll be fine." He barked, his fidgeting becoming more of a compulsive twitch.

Sakura laughed but covered her mouth as he shot an evil look in her direction. She chided herself - she had to remember he wasn't good at being the source of amusement; he had a sensitive ego. Sakura tried to pretend she hadn't heard his derisive tone (and that she hadn't found it funny) and blinked pleadingly up at him, hoping her eyelashes looked somewhat enchanting. She attempted to look saccharine in an effort to make him see sense.

"But Tobi, why don't you at least take your shirt off, it's not good to get a cold chest. I'm worried you'll get ill."

His eyebrow twitched upward and his jaw set rigidly. He subconsciously twisted the blanket in his fingers.

Sakura sighed dramatically, sugary-sweet obviously didn't work on boys like him. She changed her tone, eyes pointedly staring at his hands.

"What you afraid to show a little skin?"

When he realised he was wringing the cloth like a stressed house-wife he dropped it as if it were hot and petulantly crossed his arms, stuffing his hands firmly into his armpits. If she hadn't known him, she'd say he was almost pouting.

"I won't look whilst you undress, I promise." She winked up at him from her sprawling position on the floor.

Tobirama remained pigheadedly mute but Sakura continued to badger him, making little jibes about his prudishness and hypocriticalness, until he eventually began to undo the straps of his armour. He wrenched it over his head and wriggled out of his wet shirt. Crankily he stood, strode across the room and hung it as far away from the Uchiha shirt as possible.

Sakura broke her promise to him, she did look as he undressed… well, stared…

_"Mmm…"_ She _was_ having a fun evening.

He tore back to the side of the pit and stood across from her, eyes flashing dangerously - challenging her to laugh. The lithe muscles in his shoulders were tensed in irritation and his body was deliciously slick with rain. Sakura appreciatively took in his naked torso, letting her gaze linger cockily, as she gave him a slow once over.

_"Don't like it when it's you getting this look, do you?"_ Sakura smirked to herself, revelling as she watched his face turn from very annoyed to slightly uncomfortable.

"Will you shut up now?" He snapped heatedly. But there had been too long a delay between her last words and his – his annoyed utterance had little effect but to make her raise her own eyebrow and smirk smugly.

Sakura watched the fury bubble up inside him and nonplussed, she grinned at him cheekily but pretended to zip up her mouth to appease him. She managed to withhold her incredulous comments as he re-armoured himself despite his lack of under shirt – the poor lamb had looked a little self-conscious as her eyes had travelled across his chest and Sakura felt a bit bad for teasing him.

Plonking himself down and pulling the blanket over his body, Tobirama turned away from her, facing the outer wall of his room. His armour squeaked as he tried to settle in a comfortable position. Sakura let him sulk, he'd had a long day after all. She allowed herself enjoy the heat from the charcoal as it warmed Sakura's chilly body. Appreciatively the girl nuzzled into the blankets he'd laid down for pleasant temperature made her dozy and her thoughts muzzy.

* * *

_It was a cool night, wind rustled through the trees. The world was deceptively calm, Sakura could feel the tension in the air, heavy like smog. She was restless, she knew tonight was the night he'd finally make a move._

_She waited, lurking on the empty streets, hoping that she was wrong. _

_Her heart dropped as she heard footsteps approaching, moving toward the main gate. _

_Sakura loitered in the tree line until she was sure it was him. Moving out from the shadows she stood in his path. _

_Her eyes automatically travelled to the backpack he wore, confirming her worst fears._

_His dark figure continued to approach, unfazed by her appearance. He stopped a few feet in front of her, obsidian eyes regarding her coldly._

_"Why are you prowling around here in the middle of the night?" His deep voice sounded mildly irritated but not surprised. _

_"I knew you'd come this way… If you were to leave… So I just waited here…" She swallowed nervously._

_"Get out of here and go back to sleep…"_

_He'd never had a problem telling her what to do or pushing her away._

_Closing his dark eyes, he resumed his steady pace, walking past her as if what he was about to do wasn't a big deal. _

_Sakura felt her lip tremble, tears hopelessly spilt from her eyes. She wished they wouldn't. He hated it when she was weak._

_She turned, unable to let him just leave and abandon them like they meant nothing to him. _

_Sakura knew the boy was hurting and she could help, if he'd just open up to her._

_"Why won't you say anything to me? Why do you always keep so quiet? You never say a single word to me…"_

_"I told you: I don't need your help." He cut her off sharply, he tone low and dangerous "Don't try to look after me…"_

_His words stung but he had come to a halt. Sakura smiled bitterly, trying to figure out what she could do to make him understand; to let him know they'd always be there for him. That she'd always be there for him… even if he didn't want it._

_"No matter what, you just always hate me don't you…?" She winced at her own words, just because she could recognize and accept the truth of them didn't mean it didn't hurt her to say them out loud "You remember don't you?"_

_He was silent but he remained stationary, listening._

_"When we became genins, the day when our three-man team was first decided. The first time we were by ourselves you were so mad at me…"_

_Memories of her humiliation and his anger, clouded her mind. She'd been so confused and so ashamed, scolded by the boy who meant everything to her for running her mouth thoughtlessly. It was funny, when he'd told her she was annoying, it'd broken her heart at the time but now it was one of her fondest memories of him._

_The boy broke their silence, wiping her sad smile from her tear streaked face._

_"I don't remember that." _

_Her stomach turned, she felt sick. Of course he wouldn't remember, just another example of how little she meant to him. Just another time she irritated him amongst hundreds much like it. Sakura tried to shrug it off, ploughing onwards with her attempt to make him stay. She tried to laugh breezily but it sounded closer to sobbing._

_"Yeah, I guess you're right… That's all in the past huh?"_

_She didn't expect him to answer and he didn't._

_"That's when it all began though. You, me, Naruto and Kakashi-sensei… We did all sorts of missions, just the four of us. It was painful and difficult at times, even with that though… I still enjoyed it."_

_His silence was oppressive. Sakura kept going, hoping he was taking it all in and reconsidering his choice to leave._

_"I know all about your past Sasuke" The name rolled off her tongue as if she'd said it a thousand times. "Even if you get revenge, it won't bring anyone happiness. Not even you, Sasuke… nor me…"_

_"I already know." _

_She jumped, her heart hammered. Perhaps she'd been wrong. He'd never really leave them would he? They were a family, they needed each other._

_"I'm different from you all…"_

* * *

Sakura shot up. Her wound on her side flared agonisingly and she gasped in pain, dropping back onto the blankets. The dream had been awful. Sure she'd just been talking and for once she hadn't been attacked or hurt but it had been awful none the less. She felt uneasy and sick, her stomach churned unpleasantly.

_"I really hope that wasn't a memory… I feel like shit_."

Something about the boy's dark eyes spoke to her. She couldn't shake the feeling of dread that clung to her like a thick slime that she couldn't scrub away.

Sakura lay on her back, staring unseeingly at the ceiling in the pitch black room. Her skin was sticky with perspiration, though she wasn't hot. Pathetically she sniffled, trying to get a hold of her tumultuous emotions.

From the other side of the hori-gotatsu Tobirama's armour rattled softly. It took her a moment to realise the sound was caused by his shivering. She growled, forgetting her nightmares; the stupid man was so incredibly obstinate. He should have just done as she said. Attempting to block the sound out, she stuffed the top of the blanket around her head.

She squeezed her eyes shut, willing herself to fall back asleep. Behind her eyelids, images of the raven haired boy played in her mind his cold eyes regarding her apathetically. She groaned, not only was the dream keeping her awake but the gentle clanking of tremoring metal still managed to permeate her blanket barrier.

_"Stupid stubborn fool._" Sakura muttered to herself.

Unable to tolerate the annoying rattle and ignoring her painful side, she turned herself over and began to crawl over to Tobirama. His teeth chattered in his sleep and he was snoring quietly. Sakura lifted the blanket that covered him and he awoke with a start. She could just about make out his blearily blinking eyes in the darkness.

"What are you doing?" He mumbled sleepily, sounding surprised but not angry.

"Shut up." She told him crankily as she crawled under the blanket with him. If he wasn't going to help himself, she'd share her body heat to stop that infernal clatter of metal. His trousers were still soggy from the rain and she hissed when his cold armour touched her bare thigh as she scrambled in.

She maneuverer his upper arm, holding it out the way as she settled her head on his other bicep, using it as a pillow. His skin was cool under her cheek and Sakura wondered how he'd even managed to sleep being so chilly. When she had made herself as comfy as she could, she wrapped the free arm around her waist, cuddling his wrist against her chest. Despite the unpleasant dampness of his trousers, she reached down and pulled his knees under her bottom as if she were sat on them. Tobirama's limbs were stiff and resistant to manipulate but he didn't comment, he just reluctantly allowed her to mould him around herself.

"There, now maybe you'll stop shivering like a wet dog." She scolded.

"I wasn't aware I was." He replied quietly, warm breath tickling her neck.

"Well you were. And if you had any sense you'd take that stupid metal off." Sakura retorted snappily.

"Hmm…" He mumbled, the sound reverberated through his armour and into her back, making the hairs on the back of her neck stand to attention.

"You haven't got any sense though, have you? Stupid prude." She goaded, only to be met by stunned silence.

For a long while he lay rigidly behind her. She angrily wriggled around a bit but eventually settled into a comfortable position. She spent the next hour mostly dozing, feeling strangely contented by his presence. It gave her something else to think about instead of her disturbing dream. Sakura's breathing evened out becoming slower, more sleep like as she grew used to his proximity. As she was about to drop off, she felt him relax behind her.

She nearly jumped out of her skin as he tentatively nuzzled his face against the nape of her neck, his broad chest heaving with a hefty sigh.

Hashirama glanced up from the scroll he was reading as his old house keeper bustled into his tent, folded clothes piled high in her arms. He hurriedly pulled himself to his feet and attempted to take the unstable tower of garments from her but she evaded him with a swiftness that should have only been reserved for shinobi.

"Oh no you don't. Your hands are filthy! I only just washed these!" She scolded, frowning at him from behind the stack.

"But Runa-san, I was only trying to help…"

"Stop your whining, you're a grown man. Now get out my way so I can put these away."

He stepped aside to allow the tiny woman access to his travel chests. Hashirama, attempted to flick one open with his foot to help her out but she booted him in the shin, opening it herself.

"Don't need your help. I'm not an invalid."

His eyes watered and he winced, rubbing his sore leg. Her skills were unfathomable, fastest kick in the country. He watched her, perfectly balancing the precarious load in one hand whilst stooping to open the ludicrously heavy lid of his wooden trunk with the other – all the while her eyes shooting daggers at him. The woman had the poise of a sage and was as merciless as an assassin, she would have been formidable if she'd turned her attentions to the ninja world. Luckily for the shinobi-kind she'd kept to the more traditional occupation of housekeeping.

"Where's young Tobirama-kun then?" She inquired when she was done reverentially arranging his freshly cleaned clothes in the trunk.

"Ahhh Runa-san, he may be some time…" Hashirama grinned.

Images of his little brother's wonderfully embarrassed face filled his mind. Tobirama had turned such a delightful shade of fuchsia when his lady friend had called out to him. It was so unlike his baby brother to pay any attention to women and to be caught in the act – oh Hashirama had been so thrilled to have been able to bear witness to such an event. Really, the whole incident made up for how worried Hashirama had been when Tobirama hadn't appeared back at camp, even though he had been expected days ago. He chortled merrily to himself, pleased as punch.

"Why? What's he doing?" Runa's unimpressed voice questioned, the lid of the trunk snapped shut as she turned on him with suspicious eyes.

"Oh Runa-san, you'll be so pleased…" He trailed off wiggling hid eyebrows conspiratorially.

"Don't be so cryptic, you're not smart enough to carry it off."

He hung his head dejectedly and made a face at the elderly woman. She stared back unmoved by his hurt expression, her wrinkled mouth set in a hard line. It was like staring into the face of his perpetually unenthusiastic brother - Tobirama's mannerisms very much took after the old bat's.

"You're so cruel, Runa-san."

"That is as maybe, but you _are_ rather thick. What's he doing then?"

"He's with a female friend." Hashirama admitted, ignoring her jibe and smiling from ear to ear.

"Ohhh?" This seemed to interest Runa somewhat "And who is this female friend of his?"

"I don't know actually, didn't see her."

"Well is he bringing her back here?"

"Well…" He paused, rubbing the back of head sheepishly "I don't know, I didn't ask."

"Were they alone?"

"I'm not sure, I didn't ask…."

"When will he be returning?"

He didn't answer, mouth flapping uselessly as she scowled at him, tapping her foot on the ground.

"Does he even know where we're camping?"

Tobirama shook his head and opened his mouth to explain his genius plan but she held up a finger to silence him.

"You really are thick." Runa informed him and bustled out of the tent before Hashirama could recount his brother's cruel dismissal of his wood clone or his incredibly romantic idea to lead the two lovers safely back to their new camp site.

* * *

**Hey sorry, had some terrible trouble uploading this, the lines all went crazy. Something wrong with my word document...**

**Anywhoo, firstly I'd like to apologise for the lack of description - I've read some wonderful stories recently dripping with imagery and details of their clothing but I'm trying to write more in the style of the characters and unfortunately neither Tubs nor Saks (at least in this story) care about clothes or looks particularly (well they obviously don't mind admiring each other's torsos). **

**Erm some authors I've noticed recommend songs that inspire them. The album that got me writing is The Crane Wife by the Decemberists. Very folk taleish.**

**So you guys like Hashirama then? And don't worry I've written some Madara stuff but it might be a while until he arrives back on the scene.**

**Some questions:**

**1) Would you like a romance between our two heroes?**

**2) Would you like another person to be interested in Sakura? (N.B. There will be SasuSaku references from her past memories)**

**3) I will be featuring manga spoilers in dream sequences, do you want me to put a warning on the page? This may be a problem because some events will drive Sakura's decisions later but I can try to delay them until as late as possible.**

**4) I'm going to include a wise old sage, what animal do you recommend? (Humorous suggestions are very much appreciated).**

**Thank you for all being wonderful and reading, reviewing, faving and following. Got the most reviews ever for the last chapter and it made me soooooo happy!**


	13. Chapter 13

He didn't answer, mouth flapping uselessly as she scowled at him, tapping her foot on the ground.

"Does he even know where we're camping?"

Tobirama shook his head and opened his mouth to explain his genius plan but she held up a finger to silence him.

"You really are thick." Runa informed him and bustled out of the tent before Hashirama could recount his brother's cruel dismissal of his wood clone or his incredibly romantic idea to lead the two lovers safely back to their new camp site.

Sakura slept on even as daylight began to illuminate the sparse room. Tobirama's arm had been numb for hours now but he didn't wake the girl.

She'd barged under his blankets in the early hours of the morning, the accompanied blast of cool air waking him from his light, fitful sleep. He'd tried to inquire what she was doing but she'd rather rudely told him to shut up. A baffled Tobirama had allowed her to curl up in his arms, pressing her body against his. By the time she'd finished fidgeting, he'd been quite wide awake and not quite sure why he was allowing her to climb into bed with him. Perhaps it had been because of the unpleasant cold that was sinking his bones or perhaps it was because he was at a loss of how to deal with the novel situation – he'd never had a female try to sleep with him before.

The girl was unnaturally bold for a young woman, thinking nothing of crawling into his personal space despite being barely dressed. Tobirama hadn't known what do as she wrapped herself in his arms, squashing one of his hands against her soft breasts and pinning the other below her head. Sakura had grumbled something about him shivering – as if that were reason enough to sleep with him - and made herself comfortable, manipulating his limbs like a mannequin until she was happy with their arrangement.

He'd lain frozen: half too horrified to move and half curious to see what she'd do next. He didn't dare shift an inch – too scared to do anything in case she took it the wrong way and mistakenly thought he might have intentions. The young man had waited for her to fall back asleep before he finally let himself relax and appreciate the heat her tiny body radiated.

Long fine hairs had tickled his nose, making it twitch irritatingly. Tobirama snuffled indignantly but she slept through the quiet noise. With a sigh he resigned himself to his fate and cautiously pressed his face against her lower neck where her hair couldn't aggravate him. Her skin was soft below his cheek and very warm. Her chest rose and fell, brushing her breasts against his arm distractingly.

He could feel the steady reassuring beat of her heart against his wrist and hear the soft hiss of her breathing escaping her parted lips. Despite his nervousness at having someone so close, he allowed himself to enjoy the odd comfort that having her small body curled against his brought. He quietly listened to the rhythm of her breathing, unconsciously emulating it with his own.

Sleep must have caught up with him because when he next opened his eyes the daylight had begun to filter through the paper screens. For once, Tobirama didn't immediately get up, he just lay resting - for hours – allowing Sakura to get a full session of sleep. The girl needed time to recover. At least, that's what he told himself. Anyway, what was wrong with enjoying a rare opportunity to snooze late into the day? He'd looked after the damn creature all week – he deserved a little break too.

The warm bundle in his arms eventually stirred, rubbing her face into his arm before groaning loudly and arching her back like a cat. Since his arm had been freed, he took the opportunity to stretch himself – rolling his shoulder and slowly moving his neck side to side. Sakura turned her head to look at him, her forehead brushing his chin before she leant back and grinned up at him.

"Good morning soggy-pants."

"Afternoon, Tobirama-sama." He corrected her. Her forehead creased in a small frown and she began to shuffle awkwardly from the blanket, holding her side tenderly.

"Oh. You could have woken me up earlier."

"I've only just woken up myself." He lied.

"Well do you want to teach me some more chakra stuff today?" Sakura inquired hopefully "You owe me for being your own personal radiator."

"No."

Her face reddened with fury and her nostrils flared angrily. She jabbed him hard in the chest, bending her finger on the hard metal. She clutched the digit tenderly and stared at him accusingly as if it had been his fault she'd hurt herself.

"Oh come on Tobi, teach me some stuff. I kept you warm all night, even though you didn't deserve my kindness and this is how you repay me?"

"I've got to get back to my clan."

Sakura's eyes widened and her mouth formed a little o shape. She scowled, her forehead wrinkling unattractively but she remained mute. Tobirama left her sitting on the floor, contemplating what his words meant for her and busied himself with the task of packing up. Pouring the food into one of the cleaner blankets, he wrapped it up – that would be dinner later. He drank deeply from a remaining bowl of water, offering Sakura some, which she turned down with an agitated swat of her hand.

Tobirama didn't want to bother with hauling all the pottery and blankets he had found around the compound – nor did he want someone else benefiting from his stash of goods - so he prized one of the floorboards up, wincing as it creaked ominously, threatening to break. In the dark hole beneath, he stowed the items he had found and firmly pressed the floorboard back down. He kicked the smooth wood with his heel to make sure it lay flat.

He glanced at the girl, she was moodily drumming her fingers on the floor, face a mask of concentration. Small flares of chakra escaped the ends of her digits, making them bounce higher and higher. Content that she was keeping herself suitably busy, he removed his armour and donned his shirt – it was still damp but not sodden. Whilst it was rather unpleasant it would certainly suffice for the time being. After he'd replaced his breast plate, securing the buckles, he tossed Madara's shirt at her. It landed on her head, swallowing her in its dark depths. She squawked making Tobirama smirk.

"Oi!" Her muffled voice protested.

Carefully, he began to dismantle his traps, checking the condition of all his tools before safely and neatly returning them to their designated places around his person. He slid the fusuma open and the shōji that connected the corridor to the outside world. Light flooded the room making his eyes water. Whilst his eyes adjusted, he considered the implications of moving during the day but decided it'd be safe enough in his clan lands. Hashirama knew his location anyway, if anything happened, it wouldn't be long until his annoying brother would come charging after him. Anyway, it was unlikely any enemy would loiter in the path that one of Hashirama's wood clones had taken in the Senju's own lands.

He turned away from the bright sunlight and returned to his clean-up operation. His next task was to sweep the charcoal from the pit under the hori-gotatsu, disposing of the waste outside, further from the compound. He dawdled in the sunshine, letting its warm rays dry his shirt and heat his face pleasantly. The forest around smelt good, green and mulchy, after last night's rain storm. Shallow puddles remained in the shade of the trees, reflecting the wide array of leaves above. The ground was soft below his feet, the rain finally having managed to permeate the hard ground after many weeks of trying. True spring had definitely hit the country.

The compound looked sad and old in the daylight. Its timber frames touched by creeping lichen and many of the screens were tattered or dirty. If his father could see their ancestral home now, he'd… well Tobirama didn't know what he'd do – possibly die all over again but this time from shame. The young man crossed the threshold and corridor, stepping into his quarters. He came to an abrupt halt as he caught Sakura red handed, rootling through his pack.

"I thought I warned you about stealing from me?"

"Yeah, yeah…" She waved him off dismissively, not even bothering to look guilty "I just need some stuff."

"And what stuff would that be?"

"Food, weapons, blanket." She replied giving him a look and pulling a face that he strongly suspected insinuated he was stupid.

"You can have your own when we get back to camp."

"We?" A slow grin spread across her face.

"I can leave you if you want." He offered hopefully.

"It'd be boring round here without your pretty face, Tobi-kun." Sakura said quickly, completely unabashed by the furious scowl he directed at her.

"Tobirama-sama."

"Yeah right, well I'll let you take me with you. You can consider it part of the repayment for me keeping you warm last night."

Tobirama rolled his eyes derisively. The girl was infuriating.

"And keeping you alive and saving your life numerous times – what do I get for that?"

"The honour of helping me improve my chakra skills?"

"You are completely incorrigible."

"So teach me."

Ignoring her cyclic remarks, he slung his pack over his shoulder and gathered the girl in his arms. He took one last look around the room, checking there were no signs they'd recently been there and slid the doors shut behind him.

He headed in a westerly direction – the way Hashirama's double had come from. The ground squelched beneath his feet and he found in some patches, Sakura's added weight was making him sink. Tobirama gathered chakra to his soles; he wasn't keen on getting mud on his person. The girl wiggled unhelpfully in his arms, trying to get a good look below her.

"I knew it!" She crowed triumphantly "I could feel you doing something funny with your chakra."

"It's not 'something funny' it's sensible." He informed her haughtily.

"Is that how you walk on water too?"

"Hn."

Evidently taking this as a yes, Sakura studied his feet carefully as he walked. Tobirama felt the flush of her chakra as it moved down her long pale legs a she attempted to emulate what he was doing. The girl had got roughly the right idea but her chakra formed in too large a block under feet, if she actually tried to walk on them she'd fall head over heels.

"Reduce your output; imagine you're walking on cushions not bricks."

Sakura gave him a congenial smile, nodding enthusiastically and turned back to her task. Tobirama settled into a comfortable stride, moving relatively quickly across the countryside despite his load. He continued to head westward, hoping his brother had at least enough common sense to leave him some hint as to where the Senju camp had moved to now.

The girl was blissfully quiet in his arms, she happily concentrated on her chakra exercises – constantly repeating the task. It was a shame, Tobirama thought, that no matter how much she practised like this, when she actually got around to trying this technique on real water she was going to fall in. Some things you can only learn through practical experience. Tobirama decided that he would, in fact, very much like to be there when she first tried walking on water. Her face would no doubt be priceless.

His eyes flickered downward momentarily as Sakura surreptitiously snuggled against his chest, her arm casually hanging near his thigh holster. Tobirama continued as if he hadn't noticed, waiting for her to try whatever mischief she was planning next. Sure enough, her chakra split, moving to her feet and to her free hanging hand. For a while she repeated this, making no further attempt at what he suspected, was an exercise to liberate him from his weapons once more. He stared straight ahead, trying to give the impression of ignorance. He felt her gaze bore into his face, as she watched him for any hint of suspicion.

Slowly, she flicked her wrist, hand hovering above the entrance to his weapons pouch. The chakra in her hand intensified and gathered to the tip of a single finger that edged ever closer toward the handle of a kunai. From the corner of his eye he saw her tongue dart out of her mouth, stuck out in childish concentration. Knowing she was still watching him intently, he let his eyes slide lazily to her face and smirked dangerously. Her cheeks reddened, small pink tongue still protruded ridiculously.

"I'd be flattered by how much you enjoy staring at me, if you weren't trying to rob me."

"How long have you known for?" She pouted grumpily, her cheeks still glowing.

"Everything you do is transparent." He informed her cryptically, enjoying how her face practically turned purple in anger.

"Well you know, I'm never going to get better unless you tell me what I did wrong."

"Well _you _know, you've never going to get better if you rely on me to tell you these things."

"I bet you only just noticed." She snapped, crossing her arms to her chest and glaring away into the forest.

"I'd be a very poor shinobi if that was the case."

"Well since I don't know any other shinobi, I can safely say you're the worst I've ever met."

"Oh? Worse than those ones I killed for you? Since you were at their mercy I'd say you've earned the title of worse shinobi."

He was surprised by Sakura's little gasp and how quickly she whipped her head back around to stare at him. Her green eyes shone strangely as she studied his face, Tobirama had no idea what expression she was looking for but she seemed satisfied with what she saw. She smiled shyly and blinked up at him through her thick tangle of lashes.

"You… you think of me as a shinobi?" She asked quietly, her gaze modestly flicking to her hands; which were fidgeting oddly.

Tobirama was somewhat taken aback. He had no idea what she was so pleased about – of course they'd already discussed she wasn't a citizen, was she thick?

"You have chakra control – even if it is very poor. You also displayed the ability to react relatively quickly, you face attackers without fear and you have even healed yourself. These are qualities of a shinobi." He informed her carefully, not quite sure what she was angling after and not wanting her to grow agitated and start arguing with him.

To his great relief she remained silent; a puzzlingly small smile tugging at the corners of her lips. Sakura settled back against his chest, her eyes scanning the trees and landscape around them, chakra gentling surging to different parts of her body as she resumed her practising.

"_Such a strange, strange creature._" Tobirama mused to himself as he observed her face; the smile never left her lips. He was sure that he'd never understand the way her little illogical mind worked. If he ever did, he may start having to worry about his own sanity.

"Ne, Tobirama, what is that?"

Tobirama glanced toward the tree Sakura was gesturing too and froze in his tracks. His eyes narrowed at the offending adornment on the trunk and he hastily sprung onwards, increasing his pace substantially.

"Tobi-kun?" Sakura said after a while "Did that tree have lips?"

"I'm sure you're imagining it."

He was tempted to break into a run, to avoid Sakura experiencing the inevitable 'wit' left for them by his idiot brother but doing so would probably raise more uncomfortable questions from the girl.

"That one there looks like it has lips too!" She exclaimed. Tobirama tripped slightly, then squared his shoulders and shook his head firmly.

"Must be the way the bark grows."

"It was really very realistic looking. What a coincidence that two trees grew in that way! Oh gods, is that another one? What kind of tree are they? This one looks just like a normal birch but the last one looked like an oak..."

"I can't see anything unusual." He interrupted, turning on his heel and heading between two trunks into a narrower path of the forest. Here he came face to face with the most offensively large pair of bulbous lips which grew grotesquely from the bark of a conifer. It was all he could do not to groan.

"Oh come on Tobi-kun, you must admit that tree there looks like it _really _does have lips!"

Tobirama cursed his brother; why couldn't he have left a more subtle sign? Why lips? Why him?

It was foolish of Hashirama anyway, enemy shinobi would be sure to notice such a ridiculous change to the trees around. His older brother should know better! He was an adult and a skilled shinobi! A simple code would have sufficed. When he got home Tobirama was going to kill Hashirama. If Sakura worked out the "decorations" had been left for them he'd inevitably have to explain to her about his brother's misassumptions from the evening before. She, in turn, would probably make some misassumptions herself, based on their bed sharing last night – honestly, this was the last thing he needed.

"It's Tobirama-sama. And no it certainly does not, your fever must be coming back." He informed her resolutely.

"But I feel perfectly fine. See I'm not hot." She raised her hand to touch his cheek and looked at him questioningly.

"Then it's chakra exhaustion. I see nothing."

"Maybe you're the one coming down with something then. Because those three trees definitely have lips!" Sakura gestured wildly at a group of pouting trees ahead of them. "Is the whole forest like this?"

Tobirama bristled, turning this way and that but no matter where he went he could glimpse his brother's handy work. He concluded that the lips were being produced by the presence of his chakra reacting with Hashirama's within the trees. As he wondered farther from the main path tongues began to appear from the makeshift mouths, pointing back toward the way he'd come. If it weren't so childish, it might have been impressive.

"Probably. I guess it must be something to do with the climate." He attempted hopefully, it was impossible to deny the existence of the lips any longer. They were getting larger and more disgusting, puckered up as if they were kissing their invisible lovers.

At least it wouldn't take them to get back to camp with such ludicrous sign posts.

And when he got there. Hashirama was going to regret trying to humiliate him.

* * *

… …. …

Izuna was muttering darkly again.

Madara had grown accustomed to his little brother's constant fretting but it was still annoying none the less. It made it extremely difficult to concentrate on his delicate task.

"Izuna, could you please be quiet?"

"I just don't like it Madara – we shouldn't be sat around waiting. They're planning an attack. We should be planning an attack too."

"Izuna, _we've_ asked for a peaceful meeting, Hashirama will jump at the opportunity. He has always been this way. I very much doubt he's planning an attack of any sort." Madara told his brother firmly, looking up from the microscope he was bent over.

"That's just what he wants you to think. Remember that ambush? He lured you down there so his family could finish you off."

"If you remember correctly, he actually warned me of their presence."

"A trick, I'm sure, to gain your trust. They probably wanted to capture you and use your '_friendship_' as a tool to extract information from you."

"Oh? A clever plan."

Madara lowered his eye again to stare through the lens. He thought of the rock he'd thrown for Hashirama with a similar warning. It certainly hadn't been his intention to play the sympathetic interrogator and he was sure Hashirama wasn't devious enough to do such a thing. Madara was certain the Senju didn't have a heart cut out for trickery – he wore his emotions on his sleeve any deception would have been immediately apparent. There was no point discussing this with his younger brother however. Izuna was a rather straight forward thinker, it was hard to get his thoughts to deviate from their original path.

Madara fiddled with the dial but the flickering light beneath the glass made his efforts useless. If he was going to get results he'd have to use a steadier, brighter light source. He sighed and lent back, hands weaving in his long thick hair, which he tugged on, frustrated. This science business was much more complicated than he'd originally thought. After procuring the microscope he'd thought it'd all be smooth sailing like he'd read in the scrolls. However, he hadn't actually found any information on how to properly use the device. He'd have to track down the travelling pedlar who'd sold him the scrolls in the first place.

Izuna continued to murmur under his breath, no doubt cursing his older brother's absent mind. It was always this way when Madara tried to do anything that wasn't killing Senju. His brother harboured an unnatural hatred of their rival clan. Well, it was to be expected, the Senju had murdered many of their brethren. Izuna was also convinced that they were also responsible for the death of their brothers. Whilst Izuna's hatred was extreme – it was a war after all – Madara had to admit, if the Senju were the ones to kill his beloved siblings, he could never forgive them either.

The Uchiha formed bonds like no other clan. Friendships, love and family meant everything to his people and they fiercely defended their important bonds with everything they had. Their blood line abilities were intrinsically linked to protecting their loved ones. Madara himself had awakened his Sharingan when Hashirama's family threatened Izuna.

Some in his clan claimed the Uchiha's power was driven by a strong sense of love and loyalty but Madara suspected the real cause was an innate instability caused by less savoury emotions. The Uchiha certainly didn't seem to be blessed in terms of happiness, they weren't a clan of poetry, art or culture – they were a clan who were exceptionally talented at war mongering. His clan had suffered more than most, when they weren't fighting other clans they were fighting each other. Many of his brethren relished this life, seemingly unconcerned with the love and loyalty they liked to boast about.

The behaviour and ill fate of his family had lead Madara to conclude that the world they lived in was dark and dangerous, full of loss and therefore full of hatred. More than anything, Madara wished he could put an end to the cycle of killing. In that respect, he shared a lot in common with Senju Hashirama. However, he wasn't as naïve as his one-time friend, Madara was very aware that hostilities between clans could not be put aside so easily. As long as the warring clans remained on fairly equal grounds in terms of size and power, the members would not stop fighting. Even if one clan was to gain the advantage, he was sure this would not stop the other from seeking revenge.

Madara had long ago concluded that the only way to stop the war was for a powerful individual to rise. One so powerful that none could resist his will; one so strong that attempts of revenge would be futile. Unfortunately for the Uchiha, Madara had to admit, the strongest shinobi around was Senju Hashirama. His former friend was gifted with unusual powers, able to control wood – which Madara suspected was a form of yang release. Hashirama however, was unlikely to wield his powers effectively to put a stop to this war.

Recently, Madara been collecting all the information he could about the Senju bloodline in an effort to learn more about his rival's powers. His efforts had thus far been fruitless, Hashirama appeared to be the first of his line born with such gifts. Thankfully, Madara had struck upon some luck, meeting the travelling pensioner who had sold him scrolls containing information he'd never dreamt of. And he'd begun to form a plan, a method of obtaining unimaginable power for himself.

The writing spoke of cells and blood, of information inscribed innately into each individual; a code of sorts that prescribed what kind of person the individual would grow into and the elements their chakra would be able to influence. Information that might be used to tell him the secrets of Hashirama's power and how he himself might wield it. That was why Madara had called for a truce: he had the equipment needed to study Hashirama's cells but now he just needed to trick the Senju into providing him with some samples.

With the mokuton and his Sharingan Madara would be unstoppable. Perhaps then, peace would be possible between the clans. No one would dare provoke the Uchiha again and the other clans would be forced to fall in line behind him. Even his own people would be forced to set aside their squabbles with the other clans if he commanded it and command it he would. Madara did not have time for petty hatred. He pushed through life only to strive for stability for his family – for his little brother. Under his guidance, he'd see through an era of peace in the fire country and he'd finally be able to rest easy knowing Izuna and the Uchiha would be safe.

Hashirama and he were much the same, Madara mused, they both desired harmony between the warring clans and to protect their loved ones. The greatest difference between them was how they set about achieving this. Hashirama chased dreams, using his power illogically, half-heartedly; hoping that others would share his vision but never having the balls to see it through. Madara on the other hand, would do anything to ensure peace was made – he'd use his strength not pretty words and force the change upon the world in order to complete his mission.

"Madara, what have you got planned? You're surely not actually thinking of making an alliance with those scum?" Izuna asked, deep voice breaking through the thick silence.

"I'm only ever thinking of the way that's best to protect you, little brother."

* * *

…..

Tobirama had been skittish most of the day. Sakura wondered why he'd been so flustered by the appearance of the funny lip shaped growths that were so common to the native trees. Surely, since these were his clan lands he'd run into them before. The man really was a prude. She decided to ignore his behaviour, as she had concluded an explanation was less than likely to be forthcoming.

He had carried them deep into the forest, off the main path that lead to the Senju compound. Around them the trees grew in close proximity, branches twisting together and grabbing at each other with their spindly twig fingers. Sakura would have preferred that they stuck to the wider paths, Tobirama's ducking and weaving through the thick undergrowth was really agonising on her side. However, he actually seemed to be travelling with some purpose, so she could only really conclude that their destination lay off the beaten path.

The day was still warm, the air was thick and hazy with an unusual heat for this early in the spring. The calls of birds and insects filled the world around them in a heavy cacophony of sound. Sakura closed her eyes, content to doze whilst the noises of the world reverberated around her tired head. Occasionally she'd lazily open an eye to observe whether the scenery had changed to anything interesting. There was not much to see, just trees, some older and more gnarled than others but still just trees.

Sakura turned her attention to the azure sky above, which was sporadically visible through the thick canopy of leaves. It was a cloudless day and the sun hung low, a blazing yellow ball in a sea of blue. Despite the heat of the day, the ground still sounded waterlogged below Tobirama's relentlessly marching feet. Small droplets of water fell from the lower branches of the trees as they passed through the undergrowth, disturbing the foliage. It felt as if they were caught in the lightest of showers.

The water that fell from above was cool on her face and as it slid down her flushed skin. She imagined it was a bit of a god send for poor Tobirama who'd been lugging her around tirelessly. In this heat it was probably quite exhausting.

"Do you want to take a break?" She inquired, feeling a bit guilty for being dead weight yet again.

"I don't need a break." Came his stoic reply.

"Aren't you tired of carrying me? Come on take a break."

"Ready to walk then?"

"No, not quite yet." She conceded. "But, surely you can rest for a bit. Is there a big rush to get back?"

Tobirama was silent for a while and Sakura wasn't sure if he was formulating an answer or ignoring her as per usual. To her surprise it actually turned out to be the former.

"I want to get back. There's things I need to do."

Sakura waited for him to explain further but was given no elaboration. Not that she particularly expected one, the man did like to keep his thoughts to himself. When it became evident more speech from Tobirama would not be forth coming she decided to attempt to reason with him about taking a break – he might not be worried about fatiguing but her side hurt and if they were going to be attacked again (which seemed to be quite a common occurrence around these parts) she'd rather he was on top form.

"Let's at least eat lunch. You'll regret not taking a rest if we run into any unfriendly parties."

"Hn." He snorted derisively, obviously not particularly worried about the outcome if the situation were to turn sour.

"Well can I at least have some food please?"

"It's in the pack."

"Well put me down. I'm hungry." Sakura whined, smirking as his eye twitched in annoyance.

"If we stop to eat, do you promise to stop talking?" Tobirama had paused briefly as he spoke, looking down at Sakura with an expression that she could only call hopeful.

"Sure, I can do that." She replied quickly, grinning up at him with her best winning smile.

The young man looked sceptical but the possibility of her silence seemed to be too tempting for him to resist. He slowed and settled her in the roots of a large tree which she appreciatively leant into, carefully stretching her arms and legs when she was free from his grasp. The action tugged her wound uncomfortably but she ignored the pain in favour of loosening her stiff muscles.

Tobirama crouched on his haunches in front of her and produced a bundle from the pack. He unwrapped the sticky cloth and proffered her a lump of squashed unappetising looking berries. Sakura happily accepted the food and munched on the sun-warmed pulp, enjoying it despite its sharp tang.

"Thank you." She said gratefully.

Tobirama quietly chewed his own ball of mush, head cocked to one side as if he were listening to something. Sakura studied his face, it was serious, focused and obviously his mind was working hard behind his placid façade.

"What's up?"

"I hear rain."

The sky was still clear above them and the sun's relentless heat made the forest around them sticky and humid but there was no sign of rain nor cloud. She gave him a puzzled glance but he merely inclined his head in a southerly direction. Giving him the benefit of the doubt, Sakura obligingly concentrated on listening out for the sound of falling water.

Sure enough, if she strained to listen she could hear the soft drumming of raindrops falling through leaves coming from the south. The branches above them were still, there was no wind this afternoon but the sound seemed to be coming closer with every passing second. She looked at Tobirama questioningly but he merely shook his head and shrugged.

"I feel no chakra." He told her, he obviously expected something more threatening that a freak weather incident "Wait here, you can be bait."

"Bait…?"

But he was gone before she could ask what exactly she was bait for or object to his plan. Sakura growled and pressed her body against the tree, unsure what exactly she was meant to do in the situation. The bloody bastard hadn't even left her with a weapon! Her eyes flickered around the clearing. Tobirama was nowhere to be seen.

'He best be close by.' She grumbled to herself. She didn't particularly fancy her chances unarmed and being left out in the open in her current state.

Fat drops of water began to seep through the leaf layer above pattering through the branches and soaking into the mulch below. The frequency of the falling liquid increased until Sakura found herself caught in a downpour, her shirt growing heavy as it soaked through. Cautiously, she raised a hand to her forehead to push her sodden hair from her eyes. That was when she noticed the small child approaching.

It looked like a young boy, dressed quite formally in a kimono. He hopped from foot to foot, his feet encase in little wooden clogs. On his head he wore a wide brimmed slanted hat that concealed most of his face. As he got nearer Sakura could make out his little pudgy snub nose peeking out from under the brim of his hat - which upon closer inspection actually appeared to be the top of an umbrella with the pole removed. He happily skipped through the trees, laughing as he jumped in the shallow puddles – not seeming to mind that he was going to get completely drenched. His meandering path took him barely ten feet from where she sat, though he didn't seem to see her.

"You're getting so wet!" Sakura called out to him, laughing.

The boy froze, big bulbous eyes going wide. He seemed to shrink into himself, looking ready to bolt at any second. He was a tiny boy, no older than six. Sakura took an instant liking to him as he stood there trembling and petrified.

"I won't hurt you little one." She cooed softly, raising her palms in a reassuring gesture "Look, no weapons."

The little lad stepped forward, peering at her with saucer eyes. A pink blush spread across his fat cheeks and turned up nose, though it was barely visible through the thick layer of filth that covered his skin. She was surprised the rain hadn't washed him clean, in fact the boy seemed suspiciously dry for someone caught up in a shower. She extended a hand to him, gesturing him to come closer. He hopped frontward, craning his neck to get a better look at her.

"_He really is an ugly little bugger_." Sakura thought. He was certainly far from cute but she found him endearing none the less. His ears were overly large for his head, sticking out at an exaggerated angle. In fact, all his features – save from his pert little nose – seemed far too big for his face, as if he were a clay model made by a child.

"Here, you want some food?" She asked, digging in the pack Tobirama had left.

She produced some squashed berries and held them out to the little boy. A wide smile broke out on his portly face and he snatched them quickly from her outstretched hand, stuffing them in his large mouth. The boy softly chortled as he ate and examined her with amusement. Sakura imagined how she must look to the child; bedraggled, filthy, totally soaked through – a strange girl with lank strands of pink hair.

"I must look like a washed up rat huh?"

He laughed gleefully and clapped his hands together. His mouth opened grotesquely as he laughed, bits of food flying from the gaping hole.

'_Weird kid_.'

When he was finished eating he stuck out his hand expectantly, wanting more. Sakura sighed but produced a few more berries. She wasn't very good with children, her only means of making them like her was to feed them. His ham hands grabbed them from her, squashing them further between his thick clumsy fingers. As he ate juice dribbled down his chin in sticky purple lines.

"Good, huh?"

The boy only grinned in reply, wiping his hands on his kimono. He rummaged in the folds of his outfit and pulled out a small yellow paper lantern which he proffered to her with a strange expression on his ugly little face. Sakura reached out and took it from him reverentially, holding one hand over it to shield the tiny lantern from the rain. It was intricately decorated with swirls and loops that formed a flowing river like pattern.

"It's so lovely, it'll get wet out in the rain though!"

He chuckled and tapped his nose – eyes strangely cold as he carefully watched her face. Sakura smiled at him and tried to hand the pretty lantern back but he shook his head and danced away from her.

"For me?" She asked, when he didn't return to her side she took it as a yes.

"Thank you very much, I'll look after it forever." She told him gratefully, stooping over the pack to put it away, shielding the delicate paper from the falling water.

The rain around them intensified and she shivered as cool water dribbled down her neck. She blinked through the onslaught of rain at the little boy who seemed completely unconcerned by the miniature storm around them. Water dripped from her nose, tickling it to the point that she had to sneeze.

"Oh excuse me." She pardoned herself, embarrassed by the loudness and ferocity of the sneeze. This seemed only to entertain the little boy further. Sakura seriously wondered what this kid did for amusement, his parents really should have a few words with him.

"So what are you doing out here anyway? You should get going, not safe around these parts."

"I'm going to a wedding." He told her proudly.

"Oh that's lovely. Terrible for the couple though, rain on a lovely day like this. It's so strange not even a cloud in sight." She replied conversationally.

"Terrible because of the rain?" He asked seeming crest fallen "The couple don't want rain?"

She looked at him quizzically, his thin stretched lips trembled slightly and he looked as if he would cry. His large bug eyes swam with unshed tears.

"No I'm sure it'll be a beautiful wedding. Rain is very lovely in its own way and to happen without clouds, now that's something everybody will remember about the wedding. People will never forget such a rare sight, I'm sure they'll talk of this wedding for years and years!" She soothed, unsure why the little boy seemed so bothered by the couple's perception of the weather.

"Really?" He asked hopefully, his smile threatening to break through his gloom.

"Really."

"And you've gotten very wet in the rain?"

"Yes, I have indeed." She nodded enthusiastically, drops of water flying from her hair.

The boy laughed merrily and began to hop away, splashing her as he jumped in a large nearby puddle.

"Oi!" She shouted at his retreating back "Hey, where you going?"

The little boy didn't reply, only chortled to himself and continued his journey through the trees and out of her sight. Sakura was sure it was her imagination but the shower seemed to let up slightly as he disappeared from view. She glanced down at the gift he'd given her and was surprised to see it still intact, apparently untouched by the heavy rain.

* * *

**I am so sorry for the long wait for this update. But I made it longer out of guilt... please forgive me... Oh yeah and I decided to get the Madara mad scientist on early (his chapters are infinitely hard to write, very lengthy drawn out reasoning that I'm sure only he believes is logical). **

**Also thank you so so so much for the reviews some absolutely wonderful ideas about the sage animal so thank you so much (I don't think I'll reveal quite what I've chosen yet because it will make it better when it happens). I have actually chosen more than one of your suggestions... now I just need to extend the plot to fit it all in. You're all far too creative! Still keep the suggestions coming in because I shall definitely be writing this for a while and I do love new ideas!**

**Thanks for the advice on potential love interests, I've had one suggestion in particular that I hadn't thought of and I love it! It should be so interesting to fit in and also gives me scope to include a possible gorilla sage (or at least summon which was one of the excellent suggestions). Now if that's not a potential spoiler I don't know what is!**

**So I recently had a change of heart where I'd take this story. I want a bit more excitement a bit more folk tale stuff which should be good (I'm actually fairly proficient as it turns out at writing stuff that scares me so hopefully I can write some stuff later that will be a bit more interesting for you to read).**

**So **

**1) Can you guess what the little boy's about?**

**2) If you can guess what the little boy is about really (or should I say what he is) then please do suggest your fave things of a similar description - I am dying to put them in, too good an opportunity not to do it!**

**So basically I won't reveal all right now but next chapter I'll give you a website name that lists what I'll be featuring (well more than I could possibly feature) but let's choose some awesome stuff together - I really enjoyed writing your suggestions in (yes I have written later chapters featuring your suggestions).**

**Can't wait for Sakura and Tubs to get their scooby doo on (in a cool way of course...) - Thank you once again for the overwhelming support :) I've never received so much help and loveliness :D**


	14. Chapter 14

Hashirama was happily eating dinner when Runa burst into his tent, eyes ablaze with fury.

"I thought you said Tobirama had found a lady!" She waved a finger at him accusingly.

"Erm, yes that was my impression." He replied carefully, surreptitiously inching backward "There was certainly a lady's voice calling out to him when my clone arrived."

"A _lady's_ voice?!" Her voice took on a dangerous tone.

"Yes, female, woman, girl – it was definitely not a man's anyway." He said quickly, quite sure that whatever point she was making he had missed.

"Just because a voice is female does not denote that it's a lady's."

"Aren't they synonymous?"

"Idiot!" She cried, crossing the room with inhuman speed to beat him around the head with her palm.

Hashirama attempted to dodge the old woman's violent rage. His eyes watered as she caught him round the back of the head. He really didn't know what he'd done to deserve such treatment but he was too busy trying to escape her wrath to ask.

"That." She swiped again, narrowly missing his nose "Is. No. _Lady_!" She hollered loudly.

"Tobirama's back?" He managed to get in as he attempted to roll away from her attacks.

Hashirama grinned elated, his brother was safe and home!

Though, he somewhat was baffled by her words, he'd definitely heard a woman's voice. Maybe Tobirama had gotten bored and played clone transformation games to make a little girlfriend for himself? His little brother did live a rather lonely existence…"What is it then?"

"It is an urchin. It is filthy and disgusting!"

Hashirama crawled toward the tent opening attempting to shield his head from Runa's onslaught; whining pitifully a manner that probably wasn't quite befitting of the Senju clan's leader. When he reached the exit he sprung away from the hobbling old woman and raced for safety.

"Tobirama!" He bellowed, hoping he'd get a reply.

His brother chakra flickered toward the east side of the encampment and Hashirama bowled toward it excitedly.

"Tobirama!" He repeated loudly, skidding to a halt by the camp fire his brother sat sullenly at, moodily prodding with a stick.

"Brother." Came the monotonous reply.

Hashirama was used to his brother's emotionless façade, though he was still slightly disappointed it wasn't going to be the touching reconciliation that he dreamed of. Never the less he rushed over to the younger Senju and enveloped him in a tight bear hug, squeezing him as hard as he could through his armour.

"Where's your lady friend then?!" He roared happily, keen to see what exactly Runa had meant "Runa said she wasn't a lady but I don't really know what she means!"

"I think it means I'm in a bit of a state." Said a soft voice from the floor by his brother's side.

Hashirama craned his neck to look over his Tobirama's shoulder at the lump on the ground. It was human and apparently female but exceptionally filthy and drenched. The girl – he presumed, though it more looked like a creature currently – was covered in dirt and bruises. Her pink hair was a bird's nest of tangles and mats and was plastered to her face and neck. Large green eyes casually observed him, blinking slowly. She must have decided he was alright because her mouth was twisted in a feral grin.

"Tobirama! What have you done to the poor girl? She's soaked, did you drop her in water?!" He scolded, rushing to crouch over the small frame of the woman. He tried not to wrinkle his nose, she smelled really quite pungent.

"It rained on her." Tobirama sighed, rubbing the back of his head agitatedly.

"It hasn't rained today, the sky has been clear!"

"It managed to rain on us."

Hashirama suspiciously eyed his brother but he was indeed still slightly damp and his hair stuck up in disarray as it often did after he'd bathed. Still, the girl was far wetter than he was.

"How did she get _so_ wet? Did you use her as a shield against the rain?"

The girl laughed and shook her head.

"Nah, he ran off to find shelter and left me behind."

He turned on his little brother, eyes wide with disbelief and disappointment. Tobirama really was useless with women, he really had no clue how to treat them well!

"That is not true."

Hashirama sighed with relief. Yes, the younger man wouldn't be so callous.

"I left you as bait so I could observe from a distance."

He opened his mouth to scold his little brother for his incredible disregard of this poor young girl's safety but the girl cut him off with a bark of laughter.

"Oh yeah, what did you observe then, oh great spy master?"

"You giving our rations away."

"Oh come on," The girl glowered up at Tobirama, kicking him gently with her bare foot "You said we'd be back today, it's not like we needed the food!"

"He may have been hostile to our clan." The boy didn't blink as she glowered darkly at him, sticking her tongue out. He just continued to prod the fire.

"Not my clan."

"Still, you enjoy our hospitality."

"Hadn't even met anyone else from your clan at that point, don't owe them anything. Anyway you left me unarmed, so I figured it'd be best to make friends instead." She muttered stubbornly, jabbing him sharply in the side with her big toe.

"There was no need to arm you."

"Yes there was! How was I meant to defend myself?!"

"I could defend you from my position."

"Arrogant!" She snarled loudly.

Hashirama watched the exchange open mouthed. He'd never seen a girl (with the exception of Runa – who was more old leather bag than girl) speak to his baby brother in such a way. Usually the young ladies were demure and giggly around the prestigious and handsome Tobirama. And usually Tobirama was cold, scathing and monotonous in return – this was conversation was positively pleasant coming from the young man.

"It is not arrogant to state facts."

"It wasn't a fact. It was just you sharing your high opinion of yourself!"

He didn't know what was happening, he'd never heard so many words come from Tobirama's mouth that weren't political or strategic. Could it be, his brother was engaging in light banter? Hashirama stared at his brother's face – it was its usual mask of impassiveness.

"My abilities mean that such statements are justifiable." Tobirama retorted smugly and Hashirama thought he saw a flicker of amusement in his brother's burgundy eyes.

"Wh-What-" Hashirama stuttered "What happened to you!?"

They both looked up at him in surprise.

"To me?" Tobirama queried, sounding perplexed by the question.

"Yes to you!"

"I'm perfectly well."

"But you're being so friendly!" Hashirama wailed, confused by his brother's recent change in personality "You're talking to someone and it's not about boring stuff!"

The girl sputtered on the floor, trying to fight back her laughter. She failed and began to howl loudly, tears streaking down her face with mirth.

"This, this is him being friendly?" She choked, clutching her side.

"I'm behaving perfectly normally." Tobirama muttered defensively to himself.

"You're a regular sour-puss aren't you soggy-pants!" She chortled, wheezing as she laughed.

"My trousers are no longer damp. Your insults are invalid. And for the last time, you will address me as Tobirama-sama."

Hashirama gawped helplessly at the pair. The girl merely waved off Tobirama's grumpy comeback by flapping her hand at him absently, still struggling to contain her amusement. Instead of shutting her down and destroying her verbally, Tobirama merely rolled his eyes and ignored her. He turned to Hashirama, seemingly oblivious to the shock that the older brother was trying to process.

"She's injured. She requires a medic as soon as possible…" He paused, claret eyes sliding analytically over the tiny body before flickering back to Hashirama's tanned features "And a bath."

The elder Senju nodded mutely, still taken aback by the bizarreness of the scene in front of him.

"Perhaps Runa-san will see to it?" Tobirama helpfully supplied, finally noticing his brother's tongue-tied stupor.

"Yeah, erm, probably." Hashirama replied vacantly. There was a moment of silence between the siblings.

"So, where did she go?" Tobirama sighed, figuring he'd obviously have to spell it out to his useless brother.

"Ah, my tent?" Hashirama finally managed, he got up and stared down at the couple on the floor in wonder "Shall we go then?"

Wordlessly, Tobirama scooped up the girl and turned to follow his brother. Hashirama almost thought the act seemed romantic, except for the completely disinterested expression plastered on Tobirama's face. The girl didn't seem particularly impressed either, she in fact seemed rather pained, wincing and shooting the young man a dirty look as he lifted her from the floor.

"So," Hashirama started, attempting to break the ice a little as they walked "Please do excuse my rudeness. I am Senju Hashirama, what is your name my lady?"

"Don't know really, I'm going with Sakura at the moment." She grinned up at him from the security of Tobirama's arms.

"I see?" He tried, attempting to sound like he did.

"Ah sorry, yeah, I woke up a bit confused, in the middle of nowhere. Amnesia or something, you know?"

"And my brother found you and rescued you?" He asked hopefully.

"Not as such." She replied cheerily "I happened to pass by him and he abducted me in my sleep."

"Abducted you?!" He echoed horrified, staring at his brother aghast.

"That is a lie." Tobirama shrugged nonchalantly, the girl bobbing up and down in his arms as he did so.

"Well I certainly wasn't awake when you took me."

"You required help."

"I did not!" She squawked indignantly.

"You took her?!" Hashirama pulled his long hair, agonising over his brother's apparent crimes. It really wasn't like Tobirama to steal helpless maidens…

"She was bleeding to death and naked."

_"Naked?!_ Bleeding?!" Hashirama howled, appalled – unable to comprehend what chain of events had led to this.

"Che, I was fine! That nice Uchiha man you were with gave me his shirt after all."

"Nice Uchiha man!?"

The bickering pair ignored his scandalised interjection and carried on arguing. What exactly had happened whilst his brother had been missing? Tobirama had been with the Uchiha? The Uchiha had been nice?! Hashirama also wondered if the squabbling duo had been like this the entire time they'd been together. All of this was a far cry from the romantic getaway he'd imagined his brother indulging in.

"He's not nice." Tobirama informed the girl coldly.

"Gave me his shirt didn't he? More than you did."

"What about me saving your life? And you're wearing one of my shirts right now aren't you?" He muttered disinterestedly as always.

"You only gave me this yesterday!" She retorted huffily "And what about me saving your life?"

"What?" Tobirama angrily snapped, finally rising to her bait "When did you ever save me?"

"Stopped you getting pneumonia last night didn't I?" Sakura sounded rather smug when she said this.

Intrigued, Hashirama glanced at his brother waiting for his retort. But Tobirama looked strangely dismayed by her words, his mouth opening and closing like a fish. Stubbornly he turned his face away from them both and pretended to examine the fabric of a nearby tent. Hashirama leant close to him, staring at the red tips of his ears.

"What's this? How did she stop you from getting pneumonia?"

"She didn't! Don't listen to a word she says, she'd not trustworthy. I still haven't established if she's hostile or not." The younger brother barked hastily.

"And you brought her here?" Hashirama queried, a hint of amusement in his voice. So something juicy must have happened to make Tobirama keep her around if he didn't trust her fully.

"She will be useful. She appears to be a medic nin."

"Oh?"

It wasn't the gossip he was looking for but this was still good news! They were in need of medical ninja, oh, the others would be so pleased.

"Hey!" Sakura's worried voice broke him out of his happy musings "I'm not sure I'm all that useful. I can't even heal this bugger."

The girl gestured to her side, her face a mask of concern. Hashirama back peddled, of course, if she really was a medic why hadn't she attempted to heal herself? He looked at Tobirama expectantly for an explanation, who sighed tiredly but obliged.

"Correct. You are not currently useful. But I have seen you heal yourself whilst sleeping so the capacity must be there. Your skills will be refined and utilised in good time."

"In her sleep?"

"Look, now is not the time to discuss such things. I will tell you everything later, brother." Tobirama turned his cool gaze on the older man "Let's get her to Runa-san and call in Asah-san."

Hashirama nodded, he knew this meant "be quiet" in Tobirama language. His brother had evidently had enough of the conversation. The girl too lapsed into a disgruntled silence, scowling at his little brother for some unknown reason.

"My tent's just over here." He gestured past the dense ring of people that had begun to emerge from their tents, keen to see the return of one of their best fighters.

Tobirama politely nodded at his clansmen, drawing close behind his brother's back. Hashirama thought it strange that his brother wanted to walk so near to him – usually he was rather fond of enjoying his large bubble of personal space. Hashirama concluded he'd done it for Sakura. After all, the way he held the girl tightly to his chest as if to shield her from their prying eyes, hadn't gone unnoticed. Hashirama chortled softly to himself but let it slide.

-.

* * *

Tobirama set Sakura down in the large tent on a rather expensive looking blanket. She looked guiltily at Tobirama's brother who smiled pleasantly back at her.

"I'm sorry, I'm probably going to ruin this blanket with my filthiness." She apologised, very aware that her sodden shirt was even now probably dripping dirty water onto the fine fabric.

"Don't worry, don't worry!" He told her congenially "It's just a blanket."

"Just a blanket?!" Squawked the old woman she'd seen glowering at her earlier, emerging from the dark corner of the tent.

The older Senju visibly paled and raised a quaking hand in greeting.

"Ah Runa-san, you are here."

"Yes I'm here. Why have you put that thing on our best finery?" She scowled, wrinkled face a mass of angry lines.

The man whimpered softly, at a loss for words, or too afraid to answer. Sakura attempted to sidle off the blanket whilst the hag's attention was focused elsewhere but the old bag turned on her with furious eyes.

"And where exactly did you come from? What have you been doing with our Tobirama-kun?!"

"I, er-" Sakura found herself strangely nervous, this old woman was far more terrifying than anything she'd encountered recently.

Runa's eyes seemed to blaze with the very fires of hell as she looked Sakura up and down with disgust. Suddenly self-conscious, the young girl attempted to pull the hem of her shirt a little lower. Her legs were rather on show… The old lady's eyes narrowed dangerously in recognition and she turned on Tobirama, thrusting a gnarled digit into his face.

"You! What were you thinking giving it one of your expensive shirts? I'll never get it clean! Never!"

Sakura felt a pang of sympathy for Tobirama who, though he attempted to remain cool in the face of danger, still balked a little at Runa's ferocity.

"She required it." He answered simply, coughing to hide the slight squeak of his voice.

"Required it? Where are her clothes?"

"Her shirt was wet and inappropriate."

"Inappropriate?" Both women shrieked.

"I do not wish to discuss this further." He tried, looking away hastily to avoid Runa's death glare.

"Tough. Is this thing a prostitute?"

"I am not!" Sakura cried, somewhat offended by this "He just doesn't like the shirt I wore before because someone else gave it to me."

"Oho, jealous little brother?" Hashirama elbowed Tobirama suggestively. He shrank away as everyone glowered at him for butting in with such unhelpful input.

"So you're someone else's woman?" Runa asked lowly.

"No, the man lent it to me because I didn't have any clothes."

"So you've just been walking around naked?!" The old woman inquired incredulously, straightening her bent back and towering over Sakura.

"Well yes…"

The hag began to shake with suppressed annoyance. A tirade of abuse built up inside her, ready to spill out and put the little urchin back in her place when Tobirama finally spoke up.

"Runa-san, this girl is injured. She has no recollection of her attack. She was abandoned naked and in a bad way when I found her. Please see to it that she is bathed for Asah."

The old woman's face softened and she sagged a little. Sakura tried to interpret the gentle look Runa now gave her as she reached out to touch her matted head.

"Oh you poor dear." She lightly stroked the girl's bruised cheeks. Sakura swallowed thickly and a small yelp of shock escaped her throat.

Over the top of Runa's crooning bobbing head, Sakura could see a dumb struck Hashirama and Tobirama looking rather smug. She attempted to catch his eye, hoping he'd give her a clue as to what he meant by "attack" but he doggedly avoiding looking at her.

After Runa was satisfied with petting Sakura, she shuffled away, collecting the various items required for bathing. Sakura was shocked, to say the least, by the sudden change of attitude but she wasn't complaining. She'd never met such a petrifying individual, sympathetic Runa was much more reasonable but still a little intimidating.

"Get out of here!" Runa suddenly turned and snapped at the two men, reverting to her devil like persona.

"_Ah well, that didn't last long_." Sakura thought, rubbing the back of her head nervously. The two men hurriedly attempted to make their escape

"Oi, not you Tobirama-kun, fill this!" The crone ordered, shoving him toward a large barrel.

Tobirama sighed heavily, looking defeated and began to roll the barrel out the tent. Sakura lunged when Runa's back was turned and caught his ankle before he could leave. Casually he attempted to kick her hand off, watching Runa like a hawk in case she noticed. Sakura held it firmly and she glowered up at him.

"What attack?" She hissed, too low for Runa to hear. Tobirama glanced down at her and when he replied he sounded almost close to panicked.

"Be quiet, do you want her to get angry again?"

"What attack?" Sakura repeated.

"Well you ended up naked in the middle of nowhere somehow."

He wrenched his ankle from her grip and escaped from the tent without a backward glance. Sakura was left spread eagled on the blanket, helpless and at the mercy of Runa. She felt a little stunned by his words, though she supposed they were true. Sakura tried not to think too deeply about why exactly she'd been left naked – a thought she'd chosen not to explore before. She didn't bother complaining as the old women pulled her upright and undressed her, gawping at the jagged wound on her side.

"Doesn't look good." Runa commented, peering closely at the torn and cauterised flesh.

"Aa." Sakura agreed, gritting her teeth as Runa prodded the tender skin.

"You've got infection there."

"Not surprised, old soggy-pants had to cauterise it to stop the bleeding."

"Who? And shouldn't that stop infection?" The woman asked curiously. Sakura chose to ignore the first question, attempting to explain her humour to Runa was a probably a waste of time.

"Common misconception." She knew this was true but couldn't exactly explain how she knew it was true.

"You medically trained?"

"Apparently so."

Sakura was grateful that Runa didn't probe any further; she was fed up of being asked questions she couldn't answer. Peering at the wound, which until now she'd tried her best to avoid doing, Sakura concluded she was not in a good way. The length and depth of the gash were quite substantial. This meant there was a lot of surface area exposed to bacteria and therefore infection. Combined with the fact it had had to have been cauterised, she really hadn't stood a chance of getting away scot-free. Indeed, the flesh was a worrying colour and parts oozed foul smelling fluids.

"I hope your healer's good." Sakura commented a little bitterly. If he wasn't, she was probably going to die when the infection really took hold.

"They have asked for the clan's best healer." She was informed "He tends to the leader, you couldn't be in better hands."

"And he has time to see to me?"

"Well Tobirama-kun has requested it after all."

"So?" She inquired.

"Well he's the leader's brother." Runa chortled at Sakura's stricken expression "Hashirama is the current head of clan."

"_Oh gods_."

Sakura didn't know what was more shocking. The clan was led by the affable and easily confused Hashirama or the fact that Tobirama's arrogance was actually well founded. Perhaps she should stop calling him soggy-pants. The thought was unbearable, without her to knock him down a peg or two, his condescending attitude would go on unchecked! She'd never hear the end of his casual assessments of his own greatness.

Though, it did occur to her, as the brother of the head of clan surely Tobirama would be too busy to bother with her after she was healed. This was a somewhat relieving notion – they were like oil and water – they were never going to get along well. However, if the man really was as good a shinobi as he said he was, Sakura was a little bit disappointed that he probably wouldn't be around to tutor her anymore.

"Well, I don't really know what to do about this." Runa sucked her teeth thoughtfully "You'll just have to have a shallow bath and keep it out the water."

"Any bath is fine by me."

"I'll say." The old hag murmured in agreement.

The fabric that hung over the opening of the tent twitched aside and Runa spun on her heel to chastise the intruder. Tobirama loomed in the doorway, looking a little sheepish when his eyes fell on Sakura's nude body.

"What are you doing?!" Runa screeched at him.

"Bringing the barrel back. Why are you naked?" He directed the second part at Sakura accusingly.

"Idiot! I'm getting her ready for a bath, don't look for god's sake!"

Tobirama's eyes squeezed shut obediently, a red blush marring his ivory skin.

"Couldn't you have waited for me to return with the water before getting naked?" He retorted irritably. Sakura got the distinct impression that he was blaming her for the situation somehow.

"None of this would have been a problem if you'd learn to give some warning before barging into a private tent!" The old bag snarled "Just keep your eyes closed and bring the barrel in here."

Tobirama raised an eyebrow, eyes still firmly glued shut, but he obligingly lugged the heavy vessel a few feet forward. He backed cautiously away, when he was done, disappearing back through the entrance. An exchange of male voices could be heard just outside the tent and the material waved once again warningly.

"Pardon my intrusion, it's Asah – may I enter?"

"Wait a moment." Runa replied, hastily covering Sakura's 'dignity' with a blanket.

"Come in."

A willowy man stepped into the tent, he had short brown hair and a slightly dreamy expression. He looked to be around thirty and a little undernourished.

"Is this the patient?" He asked approaching Sakura.

She nodded and he knelt by her side, gently tugging the blanket away that covered her. Runa opened her mouth to say something but Asah pre-emptively raised a hand to silence her.

"Could you explain the treatment you've applied thus far, please?" He inquired, seemingly un-phased by the infected wound or her nudity.

Sakura obliged, explaining the circumstances it had happened in and Tobirama's field cauterisation and subsequent care routine. The medic nodded thoughtfully and leant closer to examine the depths of the cut.

Runa busied herself quietly in the background, filling a kettle with the water from the barrel. After she heated the kettle she poured the steaming liquid into a portable tin bath, repeating it until there was enough hot water to clean a small girl with.

"I am afraid I cannot treat this, hmm, without leaving a scar."

"Oh that's quite alright." Sakura grinned in relief, when he started that sentence she'd been afraid he'd say he couldn't treat her at all.

"It will substantially devalue your worth for marriage." He informed her knowingly. Sakura felt her eye twitch in annoyance.

"I'm not particularly worried about that."

"Are you married?"

"I don't think so. But none the less I don't particularly care about my value to men."

The medic looked somewhat baffled but nodded after a minute. Sakura ground her teeth, what was with everyone and their ideas about her body? She couldn't give a flying fuck about what men would think, she just didn't want to get mass necrosis and die – wasn't that the main concern here?

"I am afraid we currently do not have a genjutsu user available to put you under for surgery. Would you like to wait?"

"How long would that be?"

"A few days."

Sakura looked at him in horror. What kind of negligent doctor would suggest waiting when it could be done now?

"Just do it now."

"But it will hurt. A lady's disposition will not be able to tolerate such pain."

"Oh shut up." She snapped finally "Just get on and do it, I will be absolutely fine."

Runa cackled from the corner where she watched with interest.

"Very well." Asah sounded slightly affronted.

The medic set about cleaning the gash and Sakura remained stubbornly quiet, refusing to make a sound. She would show him a lady's disposition! When he was done he lay a hand on her side and Sakura sensed the chakra gathering in the other which hovered just above the wound.

"What are you doing?"

"Forming a chakra scalpel of sorts. I will be able to cut away the infected flesh."

"Wow." She replied honestly, if a little apprehensively.

"Are you sure you don't want to wait, it'd be easier for a girl like you?"

"Women are a lot stronger than you give us credit for."

Asah nodded reluctantly and lowered his hand to her side. Sakura looked away, a little queasy at the thought of her flesh being sliced away. She was surprised when Runa appeared next to her, gently taking her hand in her arthritic one and squeezing. Sakura squeeze back gratefully. The old woman looked at her, eyes filled with understanding. The girl winked up at her and grinned.

"Let's do this." She said.

Asah's chakra sliced through her skin, so smoothly, that for a moment she didn't realise what was happening. Sakura bit her cheek as the pain registered and she tried not to yelp as he carved through her flesh like knife through butter. Her side tingled strangely and the area under his resting hand grew oddly hot.

"Describe what you're doing." She gasped, curious despite the nauseating pain.

"Oh you want to know?" Asah sounded quite pleased by this notion.

"Please." She ground out.

"Well I'm a lightning style shinobi, amongst other things, and I'm incorporating it into my scalpel. Electrocauterisation or electrosurgery, if you will. It's actually a very safe way to remove infected flesh whilst stemming the blood flow. This other hand I'm using to complete the circuit of the current –if I did not you would experience burns. And after I shall using Shōsen jutsu to close and seal the wound."

"Amazing!" She yelped genuinely impressed.

Asah happily blithered away about his various medical ninjutsu and Sakura listened attentively. She was grateful for the distraction from the excruciating sensations that emanated from her wound. As it turned out, Asah was actually rather intelligent and very good at what he did – if incredibly chauvinistic. He worked quickly and efficiently on her side and was finished within minutes, wiping his brow and sighing as he completed his work.

"Well, you did rather better than I expected."

"Told you I'd be fine, eh?" Sakura smirked weakly. Asah leant back and examined his handy work.

"Shame about the scar, I'm afraid you won't be winning any husbands looking like this."

"Not like anyone will be seeing that much of her until her wedding day anyway!" Runa retorted sharply.

Sakura twisted to look at her side. She didn't really care about winning a man over, she might already have one for all she knew. And if they didn't love her with a scar then they were pretty poor men. She admired the long ruddy scar, it wasn't knotted as she'd expected – more like a soft pink valley that ran the length of her torso and to the top of her thigh. It certainly wasn't pretty.

But she liked to think it made her look like an interesting woman.

Juddering, she managed to get to her feet, stumbling toward the bath. Sakura ignored Asah and Runa's protests for her to rest and have her minor wounds healed. She pulled herself over the side and slipped into the painfully hot liquid. She'd been looking forward to this for days.

…

* * *

Sakura sighed and scuffed her feet in the dirt. Since Asah had healed her she'd pretty much been left to her own devices. Tobirama had stiffly allocated her a tent, bedroll and some earthen ware and left her to get on with things herself – not before warning her to keep her mouth shut about the things she'd seen before their arrival. After wandering around the encampment looking for some friendly neighbours for half a day, she concluded she wasn't going to find any. So she'd set up her living space a little way off from the rest of the camp, nearer the river.

Whilst she would have liked to make some friend and learn some new skills, most of the Senju hadn't entirely been welcoming of her, regarding her with deep suspicion. She supposed she couldn't particularly blame them, she had after all, just appeared one day out of the blue. Sakura had heard the passing whispers – most of them suspected she was a prostitute of some kind. A rumour she was suspected that wasn't helped by the fact most of the clan had only first seen her as she'd emerged from Hashirama's tent overly dressed in Senju finery that Runa had insisted she wear. When the clan had questioned the brothers about her, they'd been met with surprisingly cagey answers – something which had surprised Sakura herself, she wasn't entirely sure why Hashirama and Tobirama were keen to keep the circumstances of her arrival a secret.

Well even if she hadn't made any other friends at least she did have Runa. Wonderful, old hag Runa. The crone had taken quite a liking to Sakura, though, she still remained utterly disgusted by the young girl's lack of proper decorum and grace. Nobody else in the camp made an effort to talk to her but Runa would toddle along every so often to scold Sakura crankily and attempt to dress her in "lady's clothes". She oddly appreciated it in a way, she felt far less lonely when the old woman was griping at her.

The two brothers hadn't visited her since they'd returned. They'd left almost a fortnight ago returning a week later looking tired and perplexed. Sakura was unsure where they'd gone but she figured it probably had something to do with the Uchiha she'd encountered. It had after all sounded as if the Uchiha man was trying to plan a meeting of some kind that time they'd met in the clearing. Still that was none of her business.

What perplexed her the most, was being left untrained. She understood that Tobirama was busy but Sakura wondered why he had even bothered to bring her here. He'd initially claimed it was to utilise her latent medical capabilities but she'd received no training thus far. Perhaps he'd rescued her because he was softer than he let on and it was a habit of his to save lost strays.

Since it appeared no one was going to train her, Sakura concluded she probably wasn't required after all. Next time they moved camp – which Runa assured her would be soon – Sakura would stay behind. She rather liked the spot. She'd established the Senju weren't at least overtly hostile to her so she'd probably be allowed to settle in their lands. Living here, by herself, was better than the scornful glares she received as she walked around the encampment. The looks had been getting worse recently, several clan members including a small child had gone missing. Sakura suspected if she stuck around the Senju too much longer she'd become a convenient scape goat.

She kicked the dirt again thoughtfully. The girl had been dawdling toward the nearest river for quite some time now. Several people had passed her and returned with filled buckets giving her distrustful looks. Sakura swung her own pale and shook her head slightly. She'd plot later when she could sit down, it was starting to get dark and she didn't fancy having to find her tent without light.

The sky was blood red and the air still warm. She sped up, determined to enjoy her stroll toward the river. Trying to take her thoughts off her future plans for a while, she focused on contently listening to the chirruping crickets. They sang happily away, blissfully ignorant of the woes of the humans who passed them. The sound of the river soon drowned out their melody. Sakura approached it, it was quite calm as rivers went; the water lazily ambled along downstream, in no rush to reach its eventual ocean destination.

She sighed and stooped to fill her bucket. There'd be little time before nightfall to enjoy the relaxing tranquillity of the water. When she was done, she settled on her haunches to admire how the ruby sky reflected brokenly on the shimmering surface.

"We gave you clothes." A familiar stern voice made her jump.

She twisted around to locate the bastard and found him lurking in the tree line, casually leaning against the dark trunk of a tree. Tobirama raised an eyebrow tauntingly, his handsome face set in a smug challenging expression.

"You did, thank you for your generosity." She replied brightly, smiling with false gratitude. She fluttered her eyelashes at him hoping that he'd be flustered. Disappointingly, he didn't react and remained propped, arrogantly nonchalant a few meters from her.

"So why are you wearing that thing?"

Sakura clutched the neckline of the Uchiha shirt she'd chosen to wear.

"_Not this again_." She thought darkly.

The shirt was comfy dammit and she didn't care where it came from, it was the only thing she owned that didn't make her feel like a complete hussy. Everything else she'd been given was ridiculously girly and impractical for that matter. Runa had confiscated Tobirama's shirt from her, claiming it was not appropriate attire for a maiden. She'd only managed to keep the Uchiha garb because she'd found it discarded, unwanted, behind Hashirama's tent.

"I didn't want to get the beautiful clothes I was given dirty whilst I completed chores like this."

"Liar, I haven't seen you wear any of the things given to you after your healing."

Sakura growled under her breath. This was true but how did he know anyway? He hadn't come to see her once.

"Oh Tobi-kun, you're not jealous again are you?" She trilled, standing and making her way closer to his tall silhouette. She knew she should speak to him with more respect but she couldn't resist torturing him a little.

"It's Tobirama-sama. And no, just amazed my your ungrateful attitude."

Sakura cocked her own eyebrow in return and closed the distance between them. She could see his body stiffen as she touched his arm gently. She smoothly traced the length of his bicep, looking up at him as seductively as she could. Slowly she rose onto the tips of her toes, her mouth a few inches short of his ear.

"I can show you just how grateful I am." She whispered huskily.

Tobirama swallowed but stood his ground.

"That won't be necessary." He replied impassively but his cheeks were revealingly pink.

Sakura threw her head back and laughed, slapping his arm playfully.

"Don't worry mister prude, I'm not trying to steal your virginity." Seeing the appalled look on his face she couldn't resist adding "Tonight…"

"You are a repulsive and uncouth little mongrel." He fumed in a most ungentlemanly manner.

"That I am, that I am." She happily agreed.

"Do you have no shame?"

"I'm sure I do. But I just missed teasing you too much. This is what happens when you leave a poor lonely young woman by herself for weeks." Sakura told him pointedly.

"Perhaps if you didn't insist on wearing the garb of the Uchiha you would have found company sooner."

Sakura rolled her eyes. The man could be incredibly stubborn at times. Though he'd probably returned to the topic of the shirt to hedge around what he'd actually been up to recently. Still Sakura played along, she probably didn't want to get involved in their clan politics anyway.

"It's got no marking on it, no one could possibly know who it came from." She pointed out.

"Still, you're walking around with your flesh on show. It's very unsightly." His eyes travelled down to her bare thighs before snapping back to her face.

"Ah, it is jealousy again then? Don't want other men staring at my legs huh?"

"Hardly." He scoffed, crossing his arms dismissively over his chest, the action forcing distance between them.

"Well get me some practical clothes and I'll happily wear those instead."

"If you'll stop dressing like a harlot, I'm sure it can be arranged."

She hit him with the full force her best smile, beaming at him brightly. He flinched in surprise. She knew the man was attempting to goad her but she was a better player at this game than he.

"Thank you, Tobirama-sama."

Taking a few steps backward, she curtsied and returned to her forgotten bucket of water. She lifted it cautiously – testing the weight. Tobirama watched her from a safe distance, still unmoved from the tree.

"What you doing down here anyway?" She asked curiously.

"People have been going missing on their way to collect water. I am here to observe and protect."

"Protect against what?"

"Against whatever's happening to cause the disappearances. Everyone was told to stay away from the river at nightfall. You should not be here."

"Well I didn't get the memo." She told him bitterly. Sakura figured if she went home now she'd be bored all night so she added "Can I help?"

"No."

Sakura ignored him and settled down on the river bank, staring at the opposite side of the water. She hadn't particularly been interested about the missing Senju before, figuring when you were constantly fighting the neighbouring families this kind of thing was bound to happen. But when people went missing from one single location consistently, that was another matter entirely.

Tobirama's presence was also intriguing and the way he'd phrased his statement. He was under the impression he was required for "protection". An interesting declaration. Tobirama was not the type to hang around if he thought the missing individuals were having mere accidents like slipping into the river. In addition to this, the fact that it was him standing out here rather than a random guard also indicated something far more interesting was occurring around these parts.

"Go home." He arrogantly commanded.

Sakura glanced over her shoulder at him and shrugged.

"Got nothing better to do."

Wind blew loose leaves across the river, rippling its surface. A faint sound travelled on the breeze. It almost sounded like singing.

"Go home."

Was it singing? Or was it just her mind playing tricks on her?

"It's boring."

Yes.

It was singing.

A man's voice, she thought but couldn't quite be sure. She stood, craning her neck to stare along the river bank.

"Sakura, you will be hindrance. It's not safe for people to be out right now. I'm not here to babysit you. Head back now."

She thought she could see the outline of a stooped little person, leaning over the river. He – she presumed it was from the voice – seemed to be washing something at a lower part of the shore.

"What about him then? Shouldn't he go home too?"

Tobirama frowned and moved to her side, squinting in concentration as he tried to make out what she was looking at.

"He's number the one target round here. Singing away like that."

Sakura started forward, leaving Tobirama observing casually behind. The words of the distant man's voice were muffled by the rustle of wind in the trees.

"Look, I'll go tell him to go home. Alright?" She called over her shoulder.

The Senju man remained were he stood and nodded slightly. Confidently, she strode toward the crouched figure.

_**Shoki Shoki, Shoki Shoki**_

"_What?_" She was baffled by the words. Wasn't that meant to be the sound beans made when washed in a basket? Perhaps that was what he was doing. She slowed a little, slightly uncertain of the bristling sensation that ran down her neck.

Sakura slunk forward, a little spooked by the strange timbre of his voice.

_**Shall I wash my red beans?**_

She was now just about close enough to make out his features. He appeared to be a small squat priest, grinning away with a ridiculously large smile as he sang. Sakura carefully put one put forward, not quite sure why she was edging toward the friendly looking little fellow.

_**Or shall I find a human to eat?**_

Sakura lost her footing and slipped, hands clawing at thin air. As she toppled toward the water the man – no creature - looked up at her in surprise. Its eyes were like two dinner plates, obscenely large and round; set in sallow skin. Its mouth was too wide and stretched – grinning manically as it watched her fall. She screeched as it reached for her with a hand that only had three long fingers but thankfully she was submerged in the water before it could touch her.

She inhaled thoughtlessly, water painfully flooding down her trachea. Choking, she thrashed wildly, too panicked to pause and orientate herself. She blinked against the water that stung her eyes and for a second it seemed as the liquid around her glowed a sickening green. A hand plunged through the water behind her, she tried to turn – was it the creature's? But it had already grasped the collar of her shirt and was hauling her from the river.

Her head broke the surface and she spluttered weakly, twisting in the grasp of the stranger, trying to get a good look at the face.

"Keep still!" Tobirama snapped as he dragged her to the safety of the bank.

Sakura crawled forward, away from the river and remained on her hands and knees. She coughed, panting hard as the water was expelled excruciatingly from her lungs. Tears and mucous streamed down her face, which she attempted to wipe away with a sodden sleeve.

"Where did it go?" She gasped, turning to look at her rescuer.

"Ran away when you fell in."

"It wasn't human." She stared up at him, hoping he wouldn't think she was mad. He frowned darkly but nodded.

"Stay here. Don't move." He instructed and stalked off into the trees.

Sakura flopped onto her back, chest heaving. That had been an absolutely horrible experience. She lay for a while, shivering in the rapidly cooling evening air. It took a little time until her heart stopped hammering and her breathing returned to normal. When it did, she sat up and glanced around. The sun was setting behind the horizon, the light in the sky hazy and dusky – early twilight.

She didn't particularly fancy waiting around for Tobirama as the world got increasingly darker so she pulled herself to her feet and made for the trees. Sakura eyed the low hanging branches and selected one that was nice and thick along its length. She reached up and tugged on it, it bent a little but did not snap. Clasping it firmly she hung from it, hoping her full weight would be enough to break it from the tree.

With a crack it splintered and she fell to the floor, clutching her new weapon happily. She picked herself up and dusted herself off. It wouldn't be so bad waiting a little while for Tobirama now. If anything came along she at least could clobber it. She squelched over to sit by the roots of a tree and contemplated traipsing after him to lend her assistance. Though, she concluded, he probably wouldn't appreciate it. Anyway, that creature had really given her a fright – she was quite happy to let Tobirama play macho-macho man right now.

_**Shoki Shoki, Shoki Shoki**_

Sakura nearly jumped out her skin as a bone chilling voice somewhere behind her started up. The hairs on her body stood on end, prickling her legs with painful goose bumps.

_**Shoki Shoki, Shoki Shoki**_

Whatever was singing repeated, the words seeming to curdle in the air making Sakura's stomach churn uneasily.

"_Oh please be being followed by Tobirama._" Sakura pleaded silently "_Oh please, oh please._"

_**Shoki Shoki, Shoki Shoki**_

Each syllable dripped with malice. Sakura never would have thought onomatopoeia would be terrifying but here she sat, shaking and petrified. Soon the words were accompanied by the sound of shuffling feet which provided the song with a sickening percussion.

Sakura gripped the branch tightly, wringing her hands over the rough bark.

_**Shall I wash my red beans?**_

She steadied herself, breathing slowly through her nose and rising to a crouched position. The voice was closer now, only a few feet and closing.

_**Or?**_

Its owner dragged out the word slowly, letting it roll languidly of its tongue. It was way too close for comfort now.

_**Shall I?**_

Sakura prayed by some miracle Tobirama would appear and save the day. That's what heroic young men did, right?

There was a soft thud as its foot fell just behind the tree that hid her.

**_Find a-_**

Sakura didn't wait for it to finish. She knew how this song ended and she didn't want to bloody hear it again!

She sprung up and twirled on her ball of her foot, swinging the heavy branch with all her might. A sickening crack filled the air followed by an anguished howl.

Sakura sprung back, covering her ears from the ear splitting screech the creature emanated. It was like no other sound she'd heard before, ringing painfully in her ears. It certainly wasn't human.

Wide eyed, she finally saw what she'd managed to hit.

It wasn't the creature from earlier.

It was far more frightening than that.

It looked like a small old woman at a glance, dressed all in the whitest of robes. It too carried a small basket of red beans – probably those it apparently intended to wash when it wasn't looking for a bit of human chow.

It most certainly wasn't human.

Large dark eyes blinked at her through the trickle of blood that oozed from the wound on its grey forehead. They didn't look much like eyes – it stared at her with two coal black orbs, framed by heavy eyelids crusted with thick white gunk. The creature had a hooked appendage in the centre of its face, which seemed to be a nose, though it was twisted and lumpy like no human nose could possibly be. Its skin was ashen and almost translucent, blue veins pulsing under the papery surface.

Sakura glimpsed wicked looking hands, three fingered, as it rose from the floor where she had knocked it. They were much longer than the first creature's and bent at an impossible angle. Sakura thought she may have broken its digits until she saw one long finger rotate grotesquely in its socket. They were tipped with talon like nails, that it swiped at her as it advanced toward her.

"What the fuck are you?" Sakura wailed, hastily retreating.

It screeched again, opening the slash that was its mouth. The young girl gulped when she saw inside.

It was filled with rows of needle sharp teeth, all jutting at obscene angles. It smiled at her widely at her.

She heaved the branch again, aiming the heavy end at the creature's head once more.

This time it was ready. It caught the branch easily and twisted it from Sakura's grip, tossing it to the side. Sakura backed away, raising her hands defensively.

"Hey now, I'm sorry I hit you. Honest mistake."

"I am going to eat you." The thing told her, its voice like stone scraping over bone. "First I'll cut out your tongue…"

It paused, licking its long, sharp nails hungrily. Dark, glassy eyes regarded her thoughtfully as it lurched toward her.

"Then I'll nibble off your fingers, whilst you watch."

Sakura turned and ran, not caring where to, as long as she left the creature far behind. Her lungs burned as she sprinted away. Her legs pumped as fast she could, covering the ground in bounding strides.

She shrieked in horror as something caught her ankle. Her face slammed into the ground. She tasted dirt and blood. The grip tightened. Sakura clawed desperately at the mud as she was dragged backward, slowly, so very slowly.

"Then, I'll rip open your belly and feast on your guts." An excited gurgling sound erupted from its throat.

She kicked the creature as hard as she could but it caught her leg and snapped it easily. Sakura couldn't stop the scream of agony. Her body went cold and she felt sick – sluggishly she realised her body was going into shock. She couldn't shut down now, she had to get away.

"Then I'll pluck your eyeballs from your head and eat them one by one."

She tore at the ground again, heaving against the creature with all her might but its strength was irresistible. She thrashed madly as it reeled her in, closer and closer to its gnashing jaws.

"And you won't see the rest." It hissed with glee "You won't be able to see what I'll eat next."

The creature extended its hand, clamping it firmly round her neck and lifting her toward its face. Sakura struggled, retching at the stench of carrion on the thing's breath.

"But you'll feel it."

It squeezed, hard.

It wasn't like being throttled by that shinobi.

The creature was far stronger than he had been.

Its claws carved welts in her flesh where they dragged along the skin. Sakura's face tingled and she raised her hands to pry its fingers from her throat.

Her vision swam.

She couldn't remove the hand.

Bubbling laughter taunted her as the creature happily squeezed the life out of her. Claws scratched at her face as it attempted to prize her mouth open. She kept her jaw firmly clamped. It ripped long gashes across her cheeks and tore her lips in its excitement to get at her tongue.

"Don't you know anything?" It cooed, cocking its large head to one side "Don't you know if you hear the song of an azuki-babā you'll be eaten?"

It managed to hook a talon under her lip stretching it away from her teeth. The finger slipped into her mouth, scraping over her teeth and gums. Sakura winced as it dug into the soft flesh at the back of her teeth, trying to find the gap which would finally enable it to crack her jaw open.

She closed her eyes.

She was going to lose consciousness if she didn't breathe soon.

What could she do?

What could she do against inhuman strength?

Her mind raced.

Then settled on a memory.

Steadily Sakura counted to three and gathered the chakra to her fist.

She had to time it right.

Just like in Tobirama's quarters.

She opened her eyes again and looked the creature in the face.

Her fist swung and the moment it made contact she released all the power she'd gathered to her knuckles.

The creature's skull buckled easily beneath her hand. Its face imploded inward and its grip loosened on her neck. Sakura fell backward, gasping for air.

The thing twitched on the floor and Sakura crawled forward. She didn't bother to gather her chakra this time she crouched over the creature and slammed her fist into its blindly staring eyes. Bone crunched beneath her hands but she didn't stop.

She hit the thing again and again until the right side of its head was a bloody pulp. Sakura collapsed backward and began to cry.

She allowed herself to cry properly for the first time since she'd awoken in the stream, letting her raging emotions take charge. Hot tears streamed down her faces, stinging her eyes and she wailed loudly. Her throat was agonising but she continued none the less, beating her bloody fists against the ground. She didn't stop when a large hand gently touched her shoulder and a warm body hunkered down next to her. Sakura lent into him, hiding her face in against his neck.

Tobirama patted her awkwardly.

"You're getting snot on my neck."

* * *

**Yay a big beasty chapter as my chapters go.**

**Amazing reviews thank you. I'm sorry that my slow burn style has disappointed some of you. Unfortunately that's just how I roll! And personally, for me it feels right; I would like this to be a romance in the end (such a softie) but I can't bring myself to write that at a fast rate. So hopefully I can placate you with action and fun until they're ready for love. I also have moved away from the original ending I had planned so that's caused me to stretch it out whilst I work in new elements. But hopefully a slow burn story can be enjoyable for you. I like to write it this way anyway. (And to those who can't take it - look there was a minor time skip in this chapter, please be mollified). **

**Yay congrats to all who said Amefuri kozō this was indeed correct. Yes these are yokai to those who weren't sure. There's a yokai dot com out there if you want to have a little look to suggest things you'd like to see.**

**So I've named one creature, what's the other in this chapter? Also do excuse the liberties I've taken with their appearances. **

**Thanks a lot for reading. Your support and your lovely reviews keep me very happy. I've had some fantastic input and lovely conversations and it's really helped me write this chapter so thank you so much :)**


	15. Chapter 15

**Dear all, sorry for the delay. **

**N.B. Just to note the first part before the triple line is set before the incident at the river from the last chapter. Also some odd line breaks might appear in the chapter and I apologise for this, it's something to do with the formatting and I can't sort it out but I have double lined the actual breaks to help clarify where the real breaks are meant to be.**

* * *

Tobirama didn't like the situation. He didn't like it at all. He had known Hashirama would leap at the opportunity to settle things peacefully with Madara. He'd told his brother of Madara's words reluctantly, driven by the notion that not telling Hashirama of the meeting was immoral on some level. Friendship with the Uchiha was one of Hashirama's childhood dreams. Thus, against his better judgement, Tobirama had imparted the arrogant Uchiha's little speech to his wide eyed brother.

Of course Hashirama had reacted predictably, whooping with excitement and rushing to pack his bags in preparation for the journey – though the meeting wasn't scheduled for another few days. Hashirama wanted to leave early, to get there in good time and for once – since it was obvious there was going to be no debate about whether they attended or not - Tobirama agreed. Personally, he wanted to scout the area and make a more complex tactical plan of how to deal with the inevitable betrayal.

It was now the second day of travel to the old river that lay between the Uchiha and Senju lands. Hashirama had already run out of food; an event that Tobirama probably should have predicted knowing his brother's lousy preparation skills. He glanced over at his hopeless sibling who staggered forward dramatically clutching his stomach as if in great pain.

"You ate an hour ago." Tobirama chided snappily.

"It feels as if it were days ago!"

"Well it wasn't! I hope you're not like this on patrols."

Hashirama pouted pitifully but quickly stopped as he noticed it had not fostered the desired sympathy in his little brother but instead a smouldering look of disapproval. Tobirama shook his head as he quelled his annoyance. He skidded to a halt by a large over-hanging tree.

"Fine," He sighed "Send a clone and fetch us something to eat. I'll scout the area."

He sped away, growling at his brother's departing whooping. Sometimes it seemed to Tobirama, that his dear brother was trying to get them killed.

Perhaps Hashirama had forgotten how to fear, he was after all the greatest fighter their generation had seen. However, being the strongest warrior didn't always have its advantages - sometimes it left you careless. Luckily, Hashirama would always have his ever cautious little brother to watch his back.

Tobirama gently smirked to himself as he secured the perimeter, he was very fond of his brother – even if he was an idiot at times.

When he returned, his brother was on his hands and knees hopefully puffing at a weakly smouldering bunch of twigs, already attempting to light a fire. Forming a tiger seal, Tobirama blew a light spark past his brother's face. The fire ignited with a crack and Hashirama flung himself backward, staring up at his brother reproachfully.

"Nearly took my face off." He grumbled, rubbing his reddening lips.

"I'm _so_ sorry." Tobirama deadpanned.

Hashirama darkly muttered about the less than apologetic apology as the younger brother dug in his pack for some cured meat. Silently he broke the hunk in half and chewed on his own piece; chucking the rest to the older shinobi. He was relieved that the griping almost instantaneously desisted as his brother happily devoured the small offering.

Tobirama took the opportunity to re-examine his weapons – it obviously wouldn't do to have anything less than razor sharp knives when meeting with the Uchiha.

"You're too obsessive Tobi-chan."

"Don't call me that," He noted with distaste that the utterance seemed to be fast becoming some sort of a catch phrase "And I'm not."

"You're like a little crow, always checking your shiny treasures." Hashirama teased, poking him in the side annoyingly.

Tobirama did not rise to the comments, instead he steadily ground his teeth. This kind of irritating scene had been happening far too frequently of late. Images of the grubby pink haired girl swirled in his mind. Maybe her similarity to his brother had been the strange subconscious reason why he'd taken her in and not killed her on the spot.

He rubbed his forehead, massaging away the impending headache. Gods, the last thing he needed was another Hashirama, and a female version at that! Still perhaps if she ended up sticking around, the two morons could entertain each other whilst he got on with the important things.

His head sharply snapped up as he felt a surge of chakra and heard a rustling from the bushes. Hashirama raised a hand and Tobirama quickly relaxed. Of course, it was merely one of his brother's clones.

This Uchiha business had gotten him a little tense, he should have recognised his brother's signature chakra immediately. The clone presented them with arms full of mushrooms before disappearing in a cloud of smoke and leaving a small sapling behind.

"Tobirama, brother, make me mushroom broth– you know it's my favourite!" Hashirama begged, big brown eyes wide and innocent like a puppy's.

"Give me a pot then." He conceded, the ingredients were only water and mushroom. Even an idiot could make it. Still it was a task best not left up to his big brother, who somehow managed to sabotage all food he touched.

Patiently, he sliced the mushrooms against his thumb with his razor sharp kunai and tossed them into the blackened pot. After he'd thrown the last mushroom into the pot, he formed a Jin seal and filled the pot with water. Hashirama wiggled his eyebrows indicating he was impressed and Tobirama allowed himself a small smile - after all, producing water from thin air was no mean feat. He began to rummage in his pack, where he'd stowed a small pouch of seasoning. Something he'd packed knowing it'd please his brother to have a nice tasting meal.

"So…" His elder brother started, crouching on his haunches, huge grin spread across his tanned face.

"So, what?"

The grin stretched wider.

"Now we're away from prying ears, tell me about your lady-love!"

"I don't have one." Tobirama told him firmly, though he knew this wouldn't stop the impending conversation topic from being thoroughly discussed by his brother.

"Come now, Sakura is a fine girl! Come on, tell big bro the story of your romance…."

The withering glare Tobirama directed at Hashirama seemingly had little effect.

"You are aware I bought her to camp as I thought she could be a useful asset. There is nothing more to 'our story' than that."

Hashirama mocked disappointment – though he knew he'd get little else out of his little brother on emotional matters.

"At least tell me the circumstances in which you found her." He asked, voice suddenly a little serious "Something about the Uchiha I believe?"

Tobirama nodded his head, his shock of silvery hair bobbing up and down. In a low voice he described the bizarre evening and the days that had followed. Hashirama's shrewd eyes sharpened as Tobirama carefully listed Sakura's bizarre behaviours and questions – the mention of the Sage of the Six Paths particularly caught his attention.

"What are your thoughts, brother?" Tobirama finished, looking up at him expectantly as he dished out the soup. It wasn't often that Tobirama sought his advice; usually he preferred to be the bossy one. Hashirama slurped the piping hot broth thoughtfully.

"I'm afraid I can't begin to guess what's happened with that girl. But… I do agree we should keep an eye on her."

"I believe her motives aren't malicious." The silver haired man stared down at the greyish soup, picking at it uncharacteristically.

Hashirama was surprised by this interjection. Tobirama wasn't the most trusting of individuals and this girl came with too many unanswered questions.

"Why?"

The younger man didn't even consider the question, he merely looked firmly into Hashirama's eyes and told him "Sakura is not a threat."

"Fine, fine. I trust you brother." He held his hands up defensively. To be honest, Hashirama was happy to take his word for it. The girl was entertaining and she certainly brought a bit of colour to his brother's life.

Tobirama began to crankily pack away the cooking gear, snatching the bowl Hashirama held loosely in his hands.

"Let's get moving."

"Of course, of course. I feel much better now I'm fed." He rubbed his belly happily.

"Good," Tobirama told him "Because we're not stopping again."

He left his brother to miserably watch him stalk away. Hashirama felt he was probably going to be very hungry by the end of the day.

* * *

They arrived in the evening at the river bank, on the night prior to the ordained day. Hashirama happily strolled forward to approach the gurgling water but was stopped by Tobirama's outreached hand.

"Have you no sense of caution?" The younger man hissed.

Hashirama shrugged nonchalantly but obligingly held back and joined his brother in scanning the surrounding area for chakra signatures.

There was silence for a while as both men concentrated on the task. It was unlikely that Uchiha Madara or Izuna would reveal their positions easily if lying in ambush – as prodigies of their clan, their chakra masking would be second to none. Hashirama ceased his search a lot sooner than his brother - satisfied that enemies were not lurking nearby.

"So, what now?" He queried, watching Tobirama's stern pale face.

"Quiet, I'm concentrating."

He sighed at the snappy reply and picked the dirt from beneath his nails as his ever paranoid sibling continued the arduous task. Growing bored, Hashirama blinked slowly and opened himself to the natural chakra around him. His skin tingled as he allowed it to flow in and out of him as his sage mode activated revealing no threats – as he had already well known.

"Ne, brother, will this satisfy you?"

Tobirama glowered at him but nodded, knowing next to nothing could escape the omniscient awareness sage mode granted him. His heightened senses detected nothing and Hashirama swiftly returned to normal. His brother didn't like him flashing his abilities about, ever suspicious that others would learn just what power the Senju clan was packing. He had kept his sage abilities secret even from most of the clan, it wasn't wise to flaunt such abilities – it would make him and the clan the top target for every surrounding enemy.

The younger Senju straightened from his crouching position and began to patrol the river bank. Hashirama remained still for a moment, watching Tobirama identify which parts of the terrain could work to their advantage. No doubt he was already formulating complex attack, defence and escape plans in that furiously sharp mind of his. Hashirama trudged after his brother, following where Tobirama's keen eyes settled with his own.

"I feel as if you're worrying too much," he tried gently "The area works much more to our advantage: plenty of water and soft, rich ground."

"Perhaps. But why would the suggest meeting here unless they too have some sort of advantage from using this area?"

The young man's words made Hashirama feel uncomfortable – always so mistrustful, so cynical. Hashirama knew why Madara had chosen the area, it was the river by which they'd always met. The river where they'd been forced to declare their rivalry against each other to protect their only remaining siblings.

"Tobirama! Have some faith," Hashirama scolded reproachfully "These are peace talks, most people hosting peace talks don't plan to massacre their guests."

"_Most_ people." His brother reiterated bitterly. However, he refrained from setting his usual traps nor did he bother to mask his chakra – signs he was willing at least to attempt negotiations.

"Come Tobi," Hashirama flopped down by the river, patting the ground beside him "It's best we wait out in the open – we don't want to look suspicious."

"Indeed." Muttered Tobirama, crouching next to him, hand firmly held by his kunai holster.

The elder sibling resumed picking his nails, amused as Tobirama twitched irritably at the clicking sound it made. He snuffled slightly as his nose began to run in the brisk evening air, which provoked a particularly poisonous look from the tense figure beside him.

"You going to crouch there all night? You'll get cramp."

"We must be ready for action."

"You won't be ready for action if you're rolling around on the ground with numb legs."

Tobirama snorted derisively – which probably translated as _'As if that would happen'_.

The hair on the back of Hashirama's neck prickled as he sensed the presence of two fast approaching chakra sources. Beside him Tobirama bristled, the muscles in his forearms tensing tightly. The two remained in position as they sensed the newcomers' velocity slow to a steady walking pace.

Long, uneasy minutes ticked by - birds continued to sing in the trees around them, oblivious to the charged atmosphere that crackled through the air. Eventually, the Uchiha brothers emerged through the far treeline, dark hair looking ruddy in the evening sunlight.

Hashirama stood first, crossing the roaring water with ease to meet Madara in the middle of the river. The two younger siblings reluctantly followed their elders both sizing the other up.

"Hashirama, you're early." Madara greeted the elder Senju, a slow, charming smile spreading across his face.

"You as well."

"It wouldn't do to be late to ones own peace negotiations, would it?"

They clasped each other's hands looking to all the world as if they'd never been enemies.

"I was worried that perhaps the message wouldn't be relayed." Dark eyes slid to Tobirama, who glared back with obvious disgust. Hashirama raised a hand pre-emptively to silence the impending outburst.

"Well we're here." He smiled brightly, his face looking boyish "We've come to put an end to all of this."

"It's good to hear those words from you, old friend." Madara told him. Hashirama pretended not to notice the expression of revulsion that marred Izuna's handsome face.

"Now Hashirama, there will of course be terms."

"Of course. A compromise will have to be found."

"Might I suggest that we start with a ceasefire? Then, if after three moons this is not broken, we send envoys to discuss further terms and potential trade?" Madara drawled, his deep charismatic voice making him seem the perfect diplomat.

"A reasonable proposition," He nodded slowly, indeed pleased by the suggestion but aware the rest of his clan would not be so willing to trust the Uchiha "But, might I propose we still send envoys on the third moon but make it four moons before meeting back here to discuss further terms? This way our respective representatives can judge whether true peace can be attained and how best our clans can work together."

"Spy on us you mean!" Izuna interjected furiously before flinching back as Madara shot him an irate look.

Hashirama laughed and rubbed the back of his head "Yes, I suppose so. Except you'll have a spy amongst us as well. Surely, that's the best way to gauge each other's true intentions?"

"They'll merely use the opportunity to find and exploit our weaknesses!" Tobirama hissed in his ear.

"Well that's a risk both sides will have to take if they want the other to trust them." He told him firmly and loudly for Izuna's benefit. An idea swirled around his mind as he looked at his brother's unhappy face "In fact, I suggest that we send Tobirama to you and Izuna should come to us - since these two are likely to be the most concerned."

The two younger men protested vehemently and Madara's eyes narrowed as he scrutinised Hashirama's tanned face. The Senju leader met the Uchiha's eyes squarely and unfalteringly. Eventually, having seemingly found what he was looking for in his old friend's gaze, he sighed.

"Yes, I agree. They are both highly valuable assets to our clan. I do not believe you'd risk the death of your brother by harming mine."

"You cannot be seriously thinking of sending me into that pit of vipers alone?!" Izuna spat, face incredulous and stubborn.

"I suppose you are right..."

Both Izuna and Tobirama looked a little relieved until Madara spoke again "We will send an additional person each. You will perhaps feel more comfortable with company? We'll allow you to select your partners yourselves."

Hashirama nodded in agreement and was about to speak when Madara interrupted, glaring first at his brother and then to the Senju siblings.

"However, should there be any breach of the peace agreement for these four moons, there will be terrible repercussions." His voice was low and dangerous.

Hashirama held Madara's stare as dark eyes bled to red, tomoe spinning dizzyingly. He stepped forward and proffered his hand once more. The Uchiha took it in his own pale one and they shook, never breaking eye contact.

"We are agreed."

After a long moment, the men released the handshake and took a step backward. The Senju didn't blink as the Uchiha gathered the chakra to their feet and jumped away, disappearing into the canopy of the trees behind them. The chakra signatures faded from perception as the two Uchiha seemingly headed toward their home lands.

Hashirama sighed contentedly and turned to Tobirama, who remained rigidly tense until he could no longer sense their rivals. Finally, he crossed his arms across his broad chest and glowered at his brother with resentment.

"I didn't agree to it." His tone was uncharacteristically pedantic and Hashirama had to conceal a chuckle "Only you and Madara are happy with this arrangement."

"Good thing we're clan leaders then, and not you and Izuna."

"Good thing for _them_ you mean."

"Now, now," Hashirama reasoned- he obviously had some persuading to do "It'll all work out. You'll see."

"Work out with me roasted to death by the entire Uchiha clan."

The brunette scratched his nose to conceal this grin that tugged at his lips. For all his brother liked to act as a refined adult, his pessimism often touched on adolescent-melodrama.

"It's lucky you're excellent with water jutsu then." He said, roughly patting him on the back.

Tobirama shook him off and stalked toward the bank. Hashirama followed, feeling quite optimistic despite the inevitable struggles that lay ahead of him. In fact, he felt positively warm and fuzzy inside.

Tobirama stopped suddenly, turning toward him, sniffing the air with a nose wrinkled in disgust. Hashirama came to a halt as well, realising the warm feeling had become a distinctly hot feeling. Before he knew it, his brother had knocked him flying and he'd hit the water hard. He skidded breathlessly across its surface, his chakra keeping him from full submersion.

Acrid smoke filled the air, burning his eyes and making him choke as he finally caught his breath. Tobirama too was coughing as he ducked to avoid the scorching fireball that hurtled over his head. Hashirama pulled himself to his feet and searched the area for their attacker. He blinked, confused - he sensed nothing.

"Can you sense anyone?" He called, concentrating harder.

"Get down!" His brother's hoarse voice barked.

Hashirama released the chakra from his feet and plunged into the freezing water below, above him as another fireball seared past. He surfaced, blinking the water from his eyes, trying to re-orientate himself in the tumultuous river. A column of water shot after the roaring inferno but failed to catch up to its breakneck speed. The younger Senju skidded over to him to provide cover as he clambered, sputtering, out of the water. He watched as Tobirama fired shot after shot at the flames, which some how seemed to be turning back toward them.

The molten orb arched through the air and came screaming back at them faster than Hashirama could form seals. It headed directly for the brothers at breakneck speed, only missing by an inch as Tobirama hauled him the rest of the way out of the river and dived sideways. Something strange caught their eyes as it shot past.

"Was that a face?" Hashirama asked, quite sure he'd hit his head somewhere along the way.

Tobirama only grunted in reply and they watched the projectile come in for another run. Hashirama squinted as it sped toward them and this time he was sure of it.

"It's got a bloody face!"

Inside the blaze he thought he could make out the head of a wizened old woman, mouth open in a ear piercing screech. He glanced at his brother who'd clearly seen it too, judging by the way his mouth hung open.

"What the hell?!" He shouted above the din, preparing to distance himself from it "What is it Tobirama?"

"Like hell I know." Tobirama hollered back, finishing the last bird seal required for his jutsu.

The river below them began to undulate violently and a great swell peaked before the steely haired shinobi. Hashirama braced himself as a large snout broke from the surface of the water followed by the glistening body of Tobirama's Suiryūdan no Jutsu. The dragon seemed to roar as it opened its gaping jaws. The strong currents that made up its rippling form suddenly surged forward, making the chakra-creature appear to lunge.

The screaming thing in the fireball was moving too fast to stop and met the dragon head on. Its mighty jaws snapped shut, engulfing the strange inferno, and swallowing it whole.

Tobirama pressed his fingers together desperately, his face contorted with effort. He threw his brother a frantic look as the dragon before them began to warp and twist, its body - and Tobirama's chakra - unable to contain the rising pressure. Hashirama balked at the sight, swallowing heavily.

A large column of vapour erupted from the dragon and instantaneously both men were forced to dissipate the chakra from their feet and dropped into the water below. The writhing body of the dragon burst and a shockwave of steam thundered outward.

Above them, the boiling gas stripped the bark from the trees and the grass from the bank. Tobirama pulled Hashirama further into the cooler depths away from the super-heated water rolling away from the explosion.

By the time they'd surfaced, red faced and almost scalded, there was no sign of the fireball or whatever had been in it - only the sickly smell of lamp oil and a thick, iridescent sheen on water remained...

* * *

Sakura hadn't initially been embarrassed when Tobirama had found her after the attack. In fact, she felt she had deserved a little cry after all that business with the azuki-babā. It wasn't often one found themselves at the mercy of a flesh eating monster that had the strength to crush bones between its fingers. That being said, after the shock had worn off, she began to feel more than a little humiliated.

On that ghastly night, Tobirama had silently returned her to camp, organised for Asah to tend to her leg and subsequently disappeared without a word. Sakura had not even been given the chance to explain herself. It wasn't like she had been crying for no good reason!

_He _probably would have cried _too _if something that grotesque had been trying to rip out _his_ tongue!

She could imagine him sighing and shaking his head muttering something about her girlish weakness to himself. The very thought of it made Sakura grind her teeth in frustration.

Sakura had been waiting to confront him and set the record straight for a good three days now. Not that she'd made any effort to go to look for him...

She chose to remain lurking around her tent, stubbornly willing him to come to her. After all, running around after him would only further reinforce the weak and needy image that she'd accidentally managed to cultivate.

Thankfully, she'd been able to distract herself from ruminating over Tobirama's possible misconceptions. Runa had visited every day since the incident, fussing and squawking over her like an old fat hen. The hag had even brought Sakura food and water – a huge relief since she didn't particularly fancy heading down to the river any time soon.

However such pampering came at a price. In return, Runa had grilled her thoroughly and rather aggressively about what had happened. Sakura suspected her interest was more motivated by a lust for gossip than actual concern and thus had remained tight-lipped for as long as possible. However, the crone's constant pestering of the stubbornly schtum Sakura had eventually caused her to snap and she found herself telling Runa everything.

Initially Sakura had thought Runa wouldn't believe the fanciful story and half expected an ear cuffing but the old woman had been gravely serious about the whole matter.

"Evil times we live in." Runa told her, tapping her nose knowingly.

"Aa." Sakura had murmured in agreement.

"We best be moving from these parts." The old woman muttered, shuffling out of Sakura's tent "Behave yourself girly. Don't be running off by yourself again."

With that remark she had left, leaving Sakura to mull on her own. She decided she wouldn't be loitering here when the Senju left for greener pastures, Sakura would most definitely be tagging along. She'd put up with a few dirty looks if it meant not being munched on.

The other thing she'd decided upon was a good deal of self-training.

So what if no one wanted to teach her chakra control or medical ninjutsu?

She'd teach herself.

The satisfaction of smashing the azuki-babā in the face had been immense. Sakura vowed to herself that next time she encountered an attacker, she'd pulverise them with her bare fists _before_ they could sling her around like a rag doll.

She sat on the grass outside her tent, watching the Senju go about their business from a distance. Experimentally she swung her fists, re-enacting the encounter in her head. She should have socked the creature square in its ugly nose as it had suggested eating her (though, realistically, it would probably have resulted in a broken arm before she could even land a punch). Still, it was nice to fantasise.

Charging her chakra she mimed a brutal upper cut. Smiling as she imagined the cartilage shattering under her knuckles. The girl ducked, dodging invisible claws and brought her right hand round in a quick jab for a temple shot. She happily rolled her shoulders and repeatedly pummelled the air viciously.

"You look absurd."

Sakura continued to box her imaginary foe but granted Tobirama a glance, wondering just _how_ he managed to sneak up on her quite so stealthily. He sure did like to come in stylishly with the one liners.

The young man stood a few feet to her right, looking down at her disdainfully. She let her eyes wander shamelessly, slowly over this tall, muscular body and smirked as he uncomfortably shifted to the right, revealing a bundle of something tucked under one arm.

"I think I look great." She informed him, directing a few punches toward his legs.

"I'm sure you do."

"So, what brings you to my humble abode?" She queried, happily visualising breaking his face instead of the azuki-babā's.

He answered by dropping the bundle at her side. Sakura raised an eyebrow but reached for it.

"For me? Courting gifts already?"

Tobirama rolled his eyes but didn't reply, just waited for her to unwrap what he'd brought. Sakura obliged, unrolling the rough material. Inside she found two pairs of britches, two shirts, a musty cloak and a pair of leather gloves.

"Amazing!" She bounced to her feet happily, holding a pair of britches to her waist and spinning gleefully "Really, thank you so much!"

She attempted to bound over to him for a thank you hug but he held up a hand to stop her.

"Just keep yourself covered." He told her stiffly.

"Will do!"

Sakura cast aside her sandals and began to pull the trousers on, oblivious to Tobirama's red face as she flashed him a look under her shirt when lifting a leg to scramble into the garment. After she was finished she looked up at him expectantly, popping a hip and winking.

"How do I look then?"

"Like a boy."

"Better than a harlot, right?"

"It'd be better still if you dressed appropriately."

"If I started doing that, what reason would you have to come talk to me? I know you only come to see me to get an eyeful." She teased, fluttering her eyelashes innocently.

He took a step forward and lent a little closer toward her, a challenging look in his eye. A slow smirk tugged at his lips, making Sakura swallow nervously. When he spoke, his voice was slow and measured.

"If you're going to continue with your silly games, I won't be overseeing your training after all."

"What…?" Sakura looked at him blankly before processing his words and bouncing up excitedly "Yes! Hell yes!"

Sakura threw Tobirama a genuine and dazzling smile and danced around him, punching the air victoriously. He watched her in fascinated horror, sliding away from her outreached arms as she once more tried to embrace him gratefully. Too excited to mind, she pulled her sandals back on and hopped in front of him enthusiastically.

"Take the gloves too." He told her. She stooped, pulling them from the pile of clothes and hastily bundling the rest into the tent.

"So what first?"

"Follow me."

He took her a little further away from the encampment, to an area where the trees didn't grow so densely. Sakura happily trotted behind him, practically stepping on his heels in excitement. Tobirama threw her irritable glances over his shoulder and the enthusiastic girl backed off a little, wary in case he withdrew his offer. They stopped at a spot where several withered trees grew, their yellowing leaves looking lacklustre amongst the emerald spring greenery.

"Sit." He commanded, pointing at a spot by his feet. She obligingly crouched before him, looking up at him expectantly.

"Firstly, we talk about the other night. Do you know what the creature was Sakura?"

"Said something about being an azuki-babā – you know like from the stories?"

"I see."

His dark eyes didn't so much as blink as he processed the information and his expression remained impassive as ever – if not bored.

"You don't seem particularly surprised." Sakura probed, annoyed by his inexpressive answer. "Did you catch the other one?"

"I'm not and I didn't."

"So you let a human eating monster run away?" Her tone dropped as she regarded him darkly.

"I don't believe they were the same species. Same kind of family of creatures, perhaps, but more benign."

"You're just saying that because you failed!" Sakura accused angrily. Tobirama shot her a sharp look silencing her temporarily.

"I got a good look at him. I confirmed it with Runa, she seems to think I am correct."

"And you're willing to bet lives on Runa's opinion?" She asked, annoyed that he was being so casual about the creature's escape.

Tobirama met her eyes with a steely gaze. His garnet eyes didn't as much as blink as he answered her.

"I'd be willing bet my own life at least."

Sakura looked away, sheepishly at the ground, a little abashed by how serious his statement had seemed. Her hackles dropped, it would do no good to challenge him on this. Anyway, it wasn't Tobirama's style to trust anyone without good reason. And in a funny way, she supposed she strangely trusted the old crone too – Runa might be the gossip queen but she was not a liar and certainly wouldn't risk anyone's life on a false statement.

Sakura rolled her shoulders in a casual shrug "Fine, fine but if something tries to eat me again, I'm going to kill you."

Tobirama looked faintly amused by the notion, the corners of his mouth almost twitching upwards but he didn't laugh.

"I'm sure you're capable of looking after yourself. You did quite the number on the azuki-babā."

"I did, didn't I?"

Sakura made a show of puffing up with pride, dusting her chest nonchalantly. She didn't want him seeing how shaken she really was about the whole affair. Sure, she'd survived but it'd been too close for her liking, she had hated how it had played with her, huge dark eyes glittering with glee. It had snapped her leg as if it were nothing and in that moment she'd realised she _had_ been _nothing_ to a creature like that. She had finally understood her life could be snuffed out without even a spare second to mourn it.

"Your work was sloppy." Tobirama informed her, studying her face analytically "Today we will work on improving your concentration."

"Let me guess... meditation?" Sakura groaned pre-emptively.

"Of course. You will master the basics otherwise you will continue to perform poorly."

"I was hoping you'd teach me real fighting."

"You'd only hurt yourself."

"I can be healed." She pouted stubbornly, holding onto the hope that soon she'd be battling away to her hearts content.

"And how exactly do you intend to pay for the treatment?"

Sakura looked baffled by the question and crossed her arms thoughtfully. She hadn't exchanged any money for anything since she'd been here now she came to think of it. She'd received food, clothes, living items and even been healed but not once had she actually paid for anything. It seemed unlikely to her that this community ran on kindness alone; especially for an outsider.

"I don't…" She said carefully "Why's my treatment been free up until now?"

"It has been paid for."

"By who?" She probed suspiciously.

"By people who are willing to invest in your potential." His burgundy eyes met hers, betraying no emotion and no further information "Let us start with the training. You have much to learn."

If Tobirama's words were true, she supposed that her investors would be expecting a return for their money sometime soon. Sakura felt a twang of guilt. Perhaps it wouldn't be so bad to play along with Tobirama's excruciating slow methods if it made her look acquiescent. She didn't particularly wish to be banished from the Senju clan or to face whatever fate that was intended for un-useful strangers around these parts.

Closing her eyes compliantly, she started her breathing exercises, trying to push down her worry. Tobirama had described her as a medic to the rest of the Senju clan as a means to quash their curiosity about her appearance, this was undoubtedly the reason they were investing in her. Unfortunately, she couldn't do anything of the sort right now, there was no way in her current state she could perform any useful medical services. She'd be indebted for the rest of her life. How long would it take her to learn anyway? A little panic began to rise in her chest.

"Sakura," The young man's deep voice broke her concentration "I know you have potential. You must work hard to achieve it."

His words soothed her mind, even if she doubted them. Even if she wasn't what he thought she was, Sakura would work hard so his faith in her was not completely shattered. After all, maybe she did owe him one for caring for her. She suspected she owed him quite a bit of money as well but she knew asking about that would only annoy him (or panic her).

"Don't worry Tobirama-sensei, I'll do you proud." She cracked open an eye and winked at him, giving him a falsely bright grin.

Tobirama nodded briskly - and it seemed to Sakura as if he believed she would.

* * *

Tobirama stretched, regarding Sakura's bent figure as she scurried along next to him. She hobbled unsteadily, doubled over under the weight of the packs he'd given her to carry, her lithe legs shaking with the effort. He was pleased to see she didn't complain, not even muttering as he'd added his own baggage to her excessive load. And well frankly, she could do with bulking up her muscles.

Tobirama had originally thought her apparent bodily weakness was related to her unfortunate series of accidents and illnesses but as he'd begun to train her he'd noticed just how peculiar her lack of strength had really been. The muscles of her body – whilst reflexively quite quick and trained – had been strangely underdeveloped, almost as if they hadn't been used. It had taken a month of training to merely get her up to normal speed and flexibility and to stop her cantering around like a drunken fawn.

Sakura had recently shown significant signs of improvement, almost managing to move with the silent grace expected of a shinobi. The girl had really come on leaps and bounds since he'd taken her under his wing. The largest improvement in his eyes had been her increasing quietness, she'd all but stopped with the ridiculous flirting. Steadily for the last few weeks she'd insulted him less and less, occasionally even showing him true respect. Whilst it was certainly a relief not to have to indulge her inane chatter, it did seem as though some of the life had been squeezed out of her.

Still, shinobi weren't born to be personalities – they were born to fight.

In any case, despite a slight change in talkativeness, her training had actually been fairly successful so far. Sakura had improved both physically and had quite nearly mastered honing her chakra release to a precise art. Tobirama had actually been a little surprised by her acceleration in learning, she'd grasped the concepts far quicker than he'd initially anticipated. Perhaps some of her memories had started coming back– or at least maybe she had reconnected with retained implicit memories from her past.

She'd applied the techniques he'd taught her to control chakra in the most novel of ways. Instead of begging him to teach her a plethora of jutsu, she seemed perfectly content just trying to smash things with carefully timed chakra release. It wasn't something he'd shown her but, when it actually worked, it certainly seemed effective. Not to mention, he privately thought, that the technique somewhat suited her pink-haired scarecrow had been putting her training to good use - Tobirama believed she would become fairly formidable with her tiny fists with just a little more of time.

However, he'd found her lack of reaction to her improvements were a little… unsettling. The girl he'd travelled with all those weeks ago would be crowing about her greatness and nagging for him to teach her more. Perhaps her strange mood was from his lack of praise? Perhaps he should have complimented her on her improvements? Why, just this morning he'd seen her reduce the trunk of a tree to splinters and, admittedly, it had been rather… spectacular. He glanced sideways at the now morosely shuffling Sakura.

"Sakura…?" He coughed, wondering what on earth was wrong with the cretin. She looked up, blinking owlishly at him.

"Yes?" The girl replied quietly, her mind clearly on other things.

Tobirama glared at her suspiciously. He didn't understand her motives to act in this way… Perhaps she was upset or some similar emotion? The young man rolled his eyes disgustedly - he'd have to say something nice. After all, he couldn't stand the company of the mopey girl right now.

"Your strength has become quite monstrous."

He groaned inwardly. The words had just slipped out. Why had he said that? Women did not like to be told they were monstrous. This he was sure of! Why couldn't he have just said she'd improved? He glowered at her defensively, ready for tears or wails but found her grinning at him.

"What, you scared?" She challenged, her mossy eyes glinting at him. A tension he hadn't known had been there slipped away. Normal, arrogant Sakura still lurked ever behind her recently placated façade.

"Of you?" He scoffed, looking forward once more "Your consistency is still poor.".

They were silent for a while as they trudged onward, birds chattering happily around them. It pleased him a little that she hadn't become entirely soft, a complete lack of character rarely made good shinobi. Despite his own opinions on overbearing personalities and what some might think, he'd admit that a good shinobi needed a little fire.

With his praise he hoped to level out Sakura's personality to an acceptable level. In truth, Sakura had been somewhat subdued since the incident with the creature. At the time, Tobirama hadn't known what to do with her when he'd found her wailing by the disgusting corpse. Awkwardly, he had attempted to comfort her the best he could, whilst he took in the distressing scene, patting her on the shoulder as he'd seen his brother do with squalling children.

Tobirama had let her lean into him as he observed the carnage she'd created. The creature's corpse was truly horrifying, it had been undoubtedly inhuman, grey skinned and wrongly proportioned. Its skull had been a mess of brain and bone by the time he'd gotten there, needle teeth shattered like eggshell in its mouth. From the blood on her fists, Sakura had obviously been the one to cave in the creature's head.

Tobirama had always been somewhat sceptical of Sakura's apparent uselessness and seeing the pulverised cranium of the creature proved he was right to doubt her weak façade. When he had picked up a fragment of skull and turned around between two fingers he had found it had been thick, thicker than a human bone. He very much doubted Sakura had been able to kill it with an average girl's strength.

Yet, there she had been, moments after it had all happened, snuggling into him, distraught and afraid.

After mulling it over in his head for weeks, all he could conclude was that perhaps she hadn't known her own strength, or at least couldn't manage it.

When she was done sobbing, Tobirama had silently taken her back to camp, carrying her as her leg appeared to be broken. He'd left her with Asah, her face a mess of gauges, mucous and blood, and returned to the creature's body. Carefully, he'd examined the scene around the corpse. Nail marks scoured the ground, he lifted the creatures stiffening arm and examined its claws – it definitely didn't leave the marks. Sakura must have been dragged backward quite forcibly at some point during the encounter.

Blood and brain was sprayed across the ground, its trajectory was not large, indicating a lack of accelerated force. He had studied the creatures head next, it had been broken on one side, the break not reaching the back of the cranium. The rest of the damage seemed to be caused by repeated trauma. He had concluded she'd used a single blow to kill and rest was done in madness.

It had worried him.

Firstly, Sakura had killed something strong enough to snap her bone easily – which in itself was actually promising. But, it was the animalistic behaviour that had desecrated the corpse's skull which concerned him. He understood she was frightened and perhaps she didn't understand her own strength but it was so unlike the Sakura he knew. For her to lose her head like that... It was so unlike the gritty and sarky girl he'd travelled with.

But what did he really know about her? She was after all an outsider with no memory of her past.

The second thing that worried him had been her crying, she'd seemed so afraid and vulnerable; it was not a state of mind one could indulge in if one lived in a war torn land such as this. In a way he wanted to pity her - to tell her everything would be alright - but such actions would only be detrimental to her in the long run.

When he had reached these conclusions he had resolved to train her. He couldn't have a loose cannon with an unstable temperament running around his clan. Thankfully she'd agreed easily and he'd spent the last few weeks keeping a close eye on her.

Despite his fears, she'd become reliable lately. So much so, that Tobirama had allowed her to join him as a rear guard to the slowly moving Senju clan.

They'd set off much later than the rest of his people, carefully erasing as much evidence as they could that a large group of people had settled in their previous encampment. As they travelled behind the procession, they covered the visible tracks of the wagons with fallen leaves or mulch. To throw possible pursuers off their route, Tobirama sent clones to track false footprints in alternative directions and to turn the forest detritus to emulate the migration of a large group of people. Even with their delayed departure and the timely tasks, they'd already caught up with a few of the slower moving Senju.

Most of the people in front of Sakura and Tobirama were elderly but a few young families also trudged slowly amongst the stragglers. Three wagons trundled along pulled by small, stocky ponies. Sakura almost shouted out as she spotted Runa steering the wagon to the left; which was laden with rolled up canvas tents and wooden poles. Tobirama was pleased to see her close her mouth and stay professionally quiet as she continued to stick close to his side covering the traveller's trail as she was meant to.

The group moved slowly, at a pace almost intolerable to the restless Tobirama. He rolled his shoulders uneasily, trying to stay limber. Moving in such a long sluggish procession like this made them sitting ducks should an ambush be lying in wait. From the manner in which Sakura's eyes darted about, Tobirama could tell she too felt the strange tension.

Despite their reservations, the daylight hours uneventfully ticked past with no more misfortune than a stumble from one of the elderly Senju in front of them. As the evening light faded, Sakura and Tobirama fell back from the group, redoubling their efforts to mask the tracks left by the Senju clan.

The rosy-haired girl seemed to be taking great care scattering leaves over the scrubbed out wagon track, her mind clearly wandering as she stared blankly at the forest floor. Tobirama watched her for a minute as she cocked her head to one side as if listening to a faint sound. The only sound the young Senju could make out with his keen ears was the faint rustle and creak of the living forest. Sakura's face tilted toward the large, old trees that surrounded them and her face broke out in a childlike smile.

"Sakura," He prompted gently, a little unnerved by her odd behaviour "What're you doing?"

She spared him a glance with her opalescent eyes and sidled a little closer to him, her smooth arm brushing against his.

"Look." She whispered, pointing toward the empty trees "Can you see them?"

He strained to make out whatever had caught her interest amongst the dark boughs around them but he saw nothing. Automatically Tobirama scanned the area for unfamiliar chakra signatures and again he failed to sense anything.

His eyes slid to her face, which was a mask of fascination. Perhaps she was under a genjutsu of some kind. Carefully, so as not to startle her he reached out to touch her forehead and whispered "Kai."

This only resulted in an annoyed look shot incredulously at him and a painful slap on the wrist. He automatically rubbed his wrist and resisted the temptation to wring her by her neck for the impertinence of it all.

"Sakura, enough games now."

Tobirama reddened as she ignored him and tried to barge past him. He attempted to grab her by the shoulder to give her a sharp shake but she evaded him, dancing around him toward the forest. Irritated beyond belief, Tobirama turned back on her and began to stalk after the long gone Senju procession.

"When you feel like acting like an adult you can re-join us down the road. I won't wait for you to waste more of my time."

Sakura slowly pivoted to look at him, wearing an idiotically surprised expression.

"You can't see them?" She asked slack jawed, he glowered at her silently as she turned her back on him once more.

"Sakura..." He warned in a low voice, either she was mad or just being a pain. She bounced from foot to foot agitatedly, looking longingly at a high branch above them. Suddenly, she darted backwards and snatched his hand into a vicelike grip, towing him behind her as he tried to prize her digits from his own.

"Get off me!" Tobirama exclaimed furiously, attempting to yank his arm away from her.

"Shut up, would you?" Sakura snapped back, giving his hand a hard squeeze that almost shattered the bones. The young man almost turned purple in anger, ruing the day he'd ever helped her unlock her monstrous strength. She came to a halt and lifted a slender arm, fingers outstretched toward the overhanging branch.

Tobirama paused in his cursing as he watched the expression of pure delight spread across her face as her fingers lightly caressed the thin air.

"Look," She whispered, turning toward him, eyes glistening like opals in the half light "Can you see now?"

He bit back the scathing retort, her expression was too soft, almost too... too awed... to ruin with venomous words. Instead he sighed and concentrated on the nothingness beneath her fingers. After a long stretch of silence he sighed, ready to turn his back on the ridiculous scene. However, a slight glimmer caught his eye. He blinked and stared again, sure he'd seen an evanescent shimmer but maybe it had been a mere trick of the light?

Tobirama caught Sakura staring at him, a tentative smile tugging at her pink lips. In his peripherals he saw the air around the tree shift like a summer haze. Suddenly curious, he allowed himself to be towed forward, barely noticing as she pulled his torso flush against her back. Gently, she guided his trapped arm upward, standing on her tiptoes as she tried to bring his hand toward the invisible object she was so enraptured with.

As his fingers reached forward, the air seemed to glimmer, swirling around an unknown iridescent shape. His skin prickled as it made contact with the thing. It felt both warm and cool against his fingertips - solid yet liquid. Still, his keen eyes still couldn't discern what it was, its form seemed to ripple like a rainbow across the surface of a lake.

"It's beautiful." Sakura murmured, tilting her heart-shaped face up to look at him.

Tobirama's breath caught in his throat as she smiled gently, her jade eyes burning into his from behind those long tangled lashes. The warmth of her back against his chest began to make him feel as if he were burning. He took a half step back to collect himself but she gently caught his other arm.

"Wait," She whispered "I think the others want to meet us too."

She gestured to the trees around them with a sweeping arm. Tobirama's skin crawled a little, he found himself itching to reach for a weapon. How many of these things were there? Was he surrounded? Were they dangerous?

A single glance at Sakura's face, which glowed with innocent pleasure, was enough to silence his worries.

"Come on." She implored, cheeks flushed with anticipation.

Dumbly, he nodded and allowed Sakura to lace her fingers through his, following her deeper into the forest.

* * *

"Sounds like Kodama my boy," Runa informed him sagely "Heard they're beautiful and good luck to boot. You're a lucky man to have seen them."

Hashirama gawped at him from his seat on the floor, eyes as big as saucers and face full of wonder. He'd been listening to the story in rapt awe and practically twitched with jealousy that he hadn't gotten to see the strange creatures. His fingers curled as he recalled how strange the sensation had been when he had been touching the "Kodama". The old crone eyed Tobirama as he chewed the inside of his cheek pensively.

"Spit it out. What's bothering you?" She barked, perceptive as ever.

"I couldn't see them... Well, not really. Only sort of an impression of them..."

He'd stayed with Sakura whilst she'd greeted the odd little creatures, cooing at them in a soft voice. Despite the uncomfortable feeling in his gut, he'd settled a little way from the beeming girl and watched the scene analytically. As time had worn on, he'd been able to discern a faint outline of their twisting bodies that brushed familiarly against him as they apparently "played". However, much to his frustration, he'd never entirely been able to see what they looked like - only Sakura could.

"Sakura, though, Sakura was able to see them." He admitted to the others.

Runa's sparse eyebrow shot upward into a sea of wrinkles.

"Dōjutsu?" Hashirma suggested.

"Perhaps." The thought had occurred to him, it seemed the only logical explanation. However, it was not a power he'd ever heard of nor was it a theory he could easily test. He considered asking Asah to examine her eyes but such a task was not Asah's field of expertise and it was unlikely he'd be able to provide much information.

As if reading his thoughts, Hashirama cleared his throat and smiled happily "It seems to me you'd need to visit an expert in dōjutsu in order to fully investigate this. Happily, my dear brother, we have such an opportunity arising."

Tobirama bristled, he didn't want to take Sakura into the viper's nest for many reasons but surely sending him in with a rookie girl with no real battle experience was practically a death sentence for him. He opened his mouth to protest but Hashirama raised a hand to silence him.

"It seems pertinent to me that your travelling companion should be our little Sakura. We can kill two birds with one stone this way. Perhaps employing the Uchiha's help on this matter will encourage better relations. A sharing of information or discovery if you will." His brother's eyes shone wistfully and Tobirama suspected he was lost in his little imaginary utopia where the Uchiha and Senju frolicked around happily.

"And what if Sakura does have some dōjutsu or latent ability? This "sharing of information" is risky, we're basically advertising her abilities to our enemies. You're just setting us up to lose a potentially valuable asset."

His harsh tone snapped his brother from his revelry. Hashirama's mahogany eyes narrowed "There's a truce on Tobi, they're not our enemy at the moment." His tone was even despite the steel in his eye. He smiled flippantly and reached to pat Tobirama's shoulder "Anyway you're probably just worried your little Sakura might take a fancy to one of those pretty looking Uchiha." He joked.

Tobirama shrugged the hand off aggressively, taking a bold step forward "Listen to me." He growled "The Uchiha are not our friends. They are our enemy. They always will be. The truce is nothing more than a temporary cease fire and you're stupid to think otherwise."

"Tobira-" Hashirama attempted to interrupt, slightly taken aback by his brother's venomous tone.

"Just listen to me, you fool!" The younger Senju's voice rose "You're practically sending me to my death and now you want to send our potential asset too! If she has a dōjutsu she might change the tides for us - it's as if you're gift wrapping a weapon for them to turn on us, you really are - ow! Ow!"

Tobirama stopped mid-rant and attempted to shield himself from Runa's battering.

"You stupid boy!" Runa barked "Watch that pretty mouth of yours."

It seemed to Hashirama as if the young Senju was about to answer back but one look from Runa's beady eyes silenced him.

"Firstly, Hashirama-kun may be an idealistic fool but he is your superior. Have some faith in him, don't you think he knows what consequences can come of these actions?"

Hashirama swallowed, Runa's belief in him was unnerving. True, there was more to his plan than he was willing to share at this second, but his brother was right. It was a big risk sending Tobirama and Sakura to the Uchiha.

Unaware of his anxiety Runa barrelled on with her scolding. "Secondly, Sakura is a person not a weapon - if you treat her like a tool she'll become one. Weapons can be turned on their masters. People are much more faithful. Don't you trust her, your own student? Do you think she'll betray you so easily?"

Tobirama backed away like a cornered animal but did not move to stop her hitting him with her angry gnarled fists.

"Look, alright, alright!" He shouted, frustrated. Runa paused, looking at him expectantly "I trust her, okay? I just don't trust them. Who knows what they could do to her or make her do with their cursed Sharingan."

"Do you have so little faith in your own teachings? She's your student just increase her training in preparation."

"If we knew how to train against the Sharingan we'd be winning this war. It'll be futile, she'll never stand up to an Uchiha at full power."

Runa's wizened face darkened. When she spoke her voice was low and firm "What kind of master gives up on training his student just because the opponent is strong? She may not be powerful now but it's not excuse to leave her weak. Every teachers' dream is for their student to surpass them. You wouldn't have taken her on in the first place if you didn't see something in her."

The young warrior and the crone glowered at each other in silence. Tobirama's jaw ticked angrily but Runa stayed serenely still. Tobirama began to redden under her cool stare.

"Fine!" He conceded, throwing his hands up in exasperated defeat "But this is complete madness."

Hashirama cleared his throat - glad he'd stayed out of their bickering - "Well little brother. There is method in my madness. I promise you, I'm sending you and Sakura because I believe you are the only two who can go. I trust you two - this is a mission that could change the future of our clan."

* * *

_Sakura looked down at her baby girl._

_Her face was red and angry, eyes screwed shut as she screamed. But Sakura had never seen anything more beautiful. Her shishou had told her it'd be best to have bare skin contact at first; so they'd bond faster. She held her daughter gently against her swollen breasts._

_Tiny fists were bunched up by her sides and carefully, Sakura covered them both with a blanket – just allowing her baby's little face to peep out. _

_Her baby's head had wisps of downy dark hair and her eyes were dark blue like all infants. Sakura wondered whether she'd have her eyes or her father's. It didn't matter either way. She was perfect and she'd always be perfect, no matter whose genes were strongest. _

_She looked up, would he be proud? Would he finally accept he had a home to come back to? A family that wanted him there?_

_But of course he wasn't there. She tried not to feel disappointed. Maybe when he saw their little one everything would be different… Maybe it was unfair of her to pin her hopes on her child._

_Her daughter continued to cry, unsatisfied with the warmth of her mother. Sakura rocked her and cooed, unsure what to do. She stared down at her baby's face and watched in horror as thick, viscous, unnatural tears began to seep from her eyes._

_"Karin!" She screamed. _

_There was no reply. This wasn't right. The tears… they were like liquid emerald._

_"Karin! Something's wrong! Karin, are you there?"_

_There was silence, save for her baby's bawling and Sakura's own frantic sobs. _

_She tried to pull herself from her bed to get help but found herself trapped beneath the weight of her offspring._

_Her daughter grew heavier in her arms, pinning her down, suffocating her._

_Sakura struggled but could not move._

_She could only try and wipe the green tears from her infant child's face._

_Her breaths grew frantic and shallow and her vision began to blur. She couldn't breathe. She couldn't get help. Her daughter needed someone, someone who'd know what to do. The baby kept wailing, louder and louder, the tears streaming luminescent streaks across her delicate face._

_Where was he? Why wasn't he here? She couldn't look after the baby by herself._

_"Sasuke…"_

* * *

**Can I firstly thank Koomahana, who provided me with the motivation to actually try and cobble something together. I'm truly sorry with how delayed this has been. I would like to thank you all for your support and reviews. I'm sorry if I didn't reply to all of you! I will endeavor to do so next time. **

**In truth, I absolutely hated writing this chapter. I decided to take on board the criticisms and suggestions that Sakura wasn't up to par in terms of strength development and that my story was in fact quite long with not much to show for it. Initially I had planned to follow Sakura as her strength grew and as her relationship grew with the clan. Subsequently, I have struggled with this chapter as I feel her relationship with Tobirama now feels inorganic and stilted as I wasn't able to follow the transition from almost acquaintances (or just flirt-buddies I suppose) to master and student - which has a very different dynamic. I have also felt her sudden power growth is hard to relate to and I feel I have lost character development - struggling through learning her chakra manipulation would have fleshed out her personality more.**

**Unfortunately, because I made this decision I have actually had to replot all of my story which has been incredibly time consuming. And, to be honest, I have swung between continuing as I originally had planned to and carrying on in this new format or just giving up completely. However, I did settle on this change and I am pleased that I have done this as I feel now I can begin to deliver a better, more intense story. I know this chapter really isn't up to standard but thank you for reading and being so understanding and supportive. I hope you enjoy some of this chapter and I promise I will strive harder to write a better story. **


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